A NEW ITV drama starring David Tennant will be filmed in Clevedon from this month with shops, houses and a church to be used as integral locations throughout.

Kudos Film and Television will produce the eight-part drama, entitled Broadchurch, which will centre around a murder investigation in a fictitious Dorset town of the same name.

Hill Road will be used to represent Broadchurch High Street, where a number of exterior scenes will be shot.

The former Seeley’s Newsagent in Hill Road will be adapted, both inside and out, to turn it into the offices of local newspaper, The Broadchurch Echo. The film company is also in talks to use another property in Hill Road as a key location.

A number of scenes will also be shot in the West End area of the town, around Marshall’s Field and Clevedon Pill. Two private houses in St Andrews Drive and Lavington Close will be used to represent the homes of some of the characters and St Andrew’s Church will represent the Broadchurch parish church.

Filming is due to begin on August 13 and will run until the end of November, mostly in North Somerset. Some scenes will also be shot in West Dorset.

David Tennant, a star of film, theatre and TV, will be joined by Olivia Coleman, star of Peep Show and Twenty Twelve, in the lead roles as the police officers heading up the murder investigation. They will be joined by BAFTA-winning actress Vicky McClure.

The story will explore what happens to a small community when it suddenly becomes the focus of a major event and is subjected to the full glare of the media spotlight.

Writer Chris Chibnall said: “Broadchurch focuses on a small British community which finds itself at the eye of a storm. In the wake of one boy’s death, the residents of Broadchurch come under scrutiny and suspicion.”

All eight episodes, to be screened in 2013, will be filmed in order, meaning cast and crew will return to Clevedon a number of times over the coming months. The team will set up a base in the Salthouse Fields car park when filming in Clevedon, consisting of trailers for costume and make-up, a mobile kitchen, toilets and a mobile dining facility.

When filming in Hill Road, vehicles carrying technical equipment will be parked in The Regent car park.