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Welsh winter 'a challenge' for Sherlock-inspired series with Colin Firth

News imageDaniel Smith/ Amazon MGM Studios Set in a garden, four men and two women stand looking at the camera. All dressed in 19th century period clothing. The men in three piece suits, and the women in tailored jackets and skirts.Daniel Smith/ Amazon MGM Studios
Young Sherlock will be a re-imagining of the famous detective's younger years

The cold Welsh winter proved a "challenge" when filming a new Prime series starring Oscar-winning Colin Firth, a man who worked on the series says.

Directed by Guy Ritchie, Young Sherlock will be a re-imagined origin story for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective Sherlock Holmes.

Speaking to Radio Times, supervising locations manager Deon du Preez said finding and building locations used for the series was "an incredible privilege".

The cast and crew had been spotted filming scenes across south Wales, including in old market towns and gothic stately homes, before the series release on Wednesday.

News imageDaniel Smith/ Amazon MGM Studios Colin Firth has white hair and beard. He wears a beige three peice suit. He is sat down, and looking up at Holmes. Another character in a blue suit is sat next to Firth on the right. Four lit candlesticks are on the left.Daniel Smith/ Amazon MGM Studios
Oscar winner Colin Firth plays Sir Bucephalus Hodge in the new Prime series, Young Sherlock

Set in 19th Century England, France and Turkey, a lot of filming for the series actually took place in Wales along with Oxford and south west England.

Du Preez said: "The region has a strong selection of film-friendly Victorian and period locations, including historic streets, civic buildings, heritage sites and country estates."

Merthyr Mawr estate in Bridgend was used as the Holmes' English estate, with filming also taking place in the market town of Monmouth and at Margam Park, near Port Talbot.

The Bannau Brycheiniog provided the backdrop for a Chinese village in a flashback scene, something du Preez called "challenging" due to the show's budget.

"Once we realised the landscape of Brecon Beacons could be the landscape scale we needed, we built a Yurt Chinese Village which looked great," du Preez said.

"Fighting the Welsh winter was a challenge for that build."

News imageDaniel Smith/Amazon MGM Studios Tiffin wears a brown hat, and beige waistcoat and jacket. Light striped shirt underneath.Daniel Smith/Amazon MGM Studios
Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays the famous fictional detective

Starring Hero Fiennes Tiffin as the famous detective during his younger years, Mamma Mia actor Firth plays Sir Bucephalus Hodge, the dean of Oxford University, where Holmes is a porter.

Firth is said to be central to the plot, setting in motion a chain of events that are central to the show's mystery.

The eight-episode series is Ritchie's second time bringing the detective to life on-screen, after directing the 2009 Robert Downey Jr film, Sherlock Holmes.

It will also be a family affair, with Fiennes-Tiffin appearing alongside his uncle Joseph Fiennes, best known for his role in The Handmaid's Tale.

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