Film crew puts Borders back in the spotlight
Last updated 26th Jun 2022
A year after Hollywood rolled into the Borders to shoot scenes for the new Indiana Jones movie, it appears the region could soon be in the spotlight once again.
Speculation is mounting that an 18th Century mansion just north of Earlston could be the setting for a new period drama.
Carolside House - which boasts what have been described as "one of Scotland's finest private gardens” - is normally open to the public between May and August each year.
But a notice on the attraction's website confirms they are currently closed until July 15th.
Location notices directing "crew cars" from a local rugby club have also sprung up along the A68.
And large trucks - similar to those seen on the Harrison Ford set last year - can be seen parked in a nearby coach park, from the side of the main road.
One is emblazoned with branding for a website which specialises in supplying production and support vehicles for the TV and film industry.
Radio Borders News understands filming is underway on high end TV drama The Debutante.
It is reportedly being produced by The Forge Entertainment, a UK-based independent drama production company, established by George Faber - who is known for The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), Ackley Bridge (2017) and Elizabeth I (2005), and has also worked on the likes of Channel 4 favourites Skins and Shameless.
A casting agency recently advertised for extras to join the set, "in and around Edinburgh and Glasgow". It said: "We need people of all ethnicities and ages to take part in this exciting period drama project.
"The Debutante will be streamed worldwide on one of the major streaming services and this is your chance to be a part of it."
While the series is thought to be set in 1890s New York, the facade of Carolside House is believed to have been modelled on the long since demolished Chesterfield House in Mayfair, London.
Its setting is described as "romantic and serene"; framed, as it is, by steep wooded hills with the River Leader running through.
It won't be the first time the Borders has appeared on the small screen. In 2018, Kelso's cobbled streets and Eyemouth’s Gunsgreen House played a starring role in the Marks and Spencer's Christmas advert.
We've contacted the production company for comment.
Meanwhile, those eagerly awaiting the first screening of the latest Indiana Jones movie - some of which was shot a short distance down the A68 at Leaderfoot - will have to wait a little while longer - with its release date confirmed as June next year.