Towards Zero: Inside The BBC’s New Seaside Mystery

You can’t go wrong with an Agatha Christie mystery. Throw in a 1930s seaside setting and all of the glorious costumes that come with it, and you’ve got the perfect storm. This is the elevator pitch for Towards Zero, one of Christie’s lesser-known mysteries that nevertheless packs a punch. But where was Towards Zero filmed? We’ve got the inside scoop…

Matthew Rhys as Inspector Leach in Towards Zero, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One in 2025

Where Was Towards Zero Filmed?

Towards Zero was filmed in Devon in summer 2024, with some additional scenes shot in Bristol. ‘There is something nice about having filmed some of it in Devon, which is where Agatha Christie grew up and spent a lot of time,’ executive producer James Prichard tells the BBC. ‘It’s where an awful lot of the inspiration for these stories would have come from – they’re not all set there literally, but it’s in her mindscape.

‘This show is – in terms of plot, in terms of twist – very much about the geography,’ Prichard adds. ‘The house is a character in the story, a really big character. It means things to people, it’s a place where people come and meet, it’s a place where a lot happens. Then you have the Burgh Island feel of it all – it has that stretch of water, the feeling of being one side of a stretch of water that separates you from something else.

I think in some ways this story was inspired by Christie’s house in Devon, Greenway, because that stretch of river there lends itself to this, it has that feel,’ Prichard says. ‘All these things add to it and there is something nice about having filmed some of the series in Devon, which is sort of Agatha Christie’s heartland.’

Towards Zero was filmed in real period properties, not on sets. ‘We were not on a studio backlot,’ says Adam Hugill who stars as Mac. ‘We were surrounded by the real period, the real setting. Everything was there for us, it was so immersive and perfect, because we were in the costumes and in the real rooms.’

Anjana Vasan as Mary Aldin in Towards Zero, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One in 2025

Towards Zero Filming Locations

Towards Zero is mainly split between two locations: Gull’s Point, the home of the formidable Lady Tressilian; and Easterhead Bay Hotel, a pleasure hotel brimming with music, dancing and debauchery. ‘The two locations are representative of the polarities going on with a lot of characters,’ explains Ella Lily Hyland, who stars as Audrey Strange. ‘For Audrey and Nevile, it’s how they grew up. They had a veneer of being polite and good children, but that amount of money and luxury allowed them to run amuck. I think Easterhead Bay Hotel feels like their inner life. It’s what everyone wants.’

Gull’s Point

Lady Tressilian’s Gull’s Point home was predominantly filmed at a private country house in Wiltshire called Neston Park, though shots were collaged with Tyntesfield House and the Badminton Estate to create the picture-perfect (if a bit imposing) manor. Indeed, compared to Easterhead Bay, star Jack Farthing (who plays Thomas Royde) describes Gull’s Point as a ‘prison-like fortress that Lady Tressilian rules over’. ‘She looks out of the window at the world and doesn’t want anything to do with it,’ Farthing says. ‘That sets the tone for the house as quite formidable and intimidating.’

The real Wiltshire home overlooks a vast swathe of green parkland, but this was replaced with shots of the Devon coast using visual effects to position Gull’s Point beside the sea. Nearby, the Gull’s Point beach was filmed at Thurlestone.

Easterhead Bay Hotel

The exterior of Easterhead Bay Hotel was shot at Burgh Island Hotel, a unique art deco address on its own private island in South Devon. Continuing the illustrious art deco theme, some interior shots were filmed at The Forum in Bath, a former cinema turned event space.

‘Easterhead Bay Hotel is a pleasure hotel, full of music, dancing, debauchery and young people running towards life following the tragedy of the Great War,’ describes Towards Zero’s director Sam Yates.

With an illustrious history dating back to the 1930s, Burgh Island Hotel is the perfect place to stage a Christie mystery: the writer often holidayed here, and was inspired to pen both And Then There Were None and Evil Under The Sun here, with the latter specifically set within the abode. More recently, Burgh Island Hotel inspired the Moonflower Hotel in Moonflower Murders.

Nevile’s Apartment

Scenes in Nevile Strange’s apartment were shot on the Goldney Estate, home to the Grade II* Goldney House in the picturesque Clifton area of Bristol. Now home to a hall of residence for the University of Bristol, gardens, a gothic folly and an orchard, this plot of land is best known for the honey-hued house, which dates back to 1724 when an older version was partially demolished and the new, grander building erected.

London

Towards Zero’s scenes purportedly in London were actually filmed in Bristol, especially along Frog Lane and at Bristol Cathedral, which doubles as London’s Royal Courts of Justice.

Tennis Courts

Tennis is a recurring motif in Towards Zero, with 1930s Wimbledon featuring in the drama. Of course, the real All England Lawn Tennis Club looks rather different today than it did back then, so a combination of a full-scale court replica and a sprinkling of visual effects creates the backdrop for the scenery we see in the show. The replica was built at The Bath & West Showground in Shepton Mallet, while the changing rooms were filmed in The Province of Bristol Masonic Hall on Park Street.

Matthew Rhys, who stars as Inspector Leach, reminisces on filming. ‘Me and Oliver [Jackson-Cohen, who plays Nevile] have to play tennis in the show and Sam (Yates, director) on the first day said: “do you both play tennis?” to which we promptly answered: “we’ve never played tennis”. They’ve chosen two actors who have never played tennis. We had this wonderful South African coach called Francoise who looked on with abject horror at our first lesson. And at one point he said, “you know what, you two are so bad that you’re on exactly the same level, and maybe people will think that’s just how they played tennis in 1936.” So I really looked forward to the big tennis scene which was shot at the very end of the shoot. You’ll have to watch and judge if either of us made any progress since that first fated lesson.’

Nevile, in fact, is supposed to be a tennis star. But: ‘I am the most un-sporty type there is,’ Jackson-Cohen says. ‘I thought “oh, it’ll be fine with the tennis because they’ll get doubles in!” And then I realised I was going to have to do some of it. When we shot Wimbledon, we had to tell the crowd – “even if he misses the ball, cheer and make it look like he’s winning!” So it was quite the experience… As you find a lot with anyone in sports, there is a drive to win. It’s all about tactics and how you get to that final result. That plays out into his personal life and relationships. It’s how he’s wired, there’s a real strong drive in Nevile to win.’

Neville Strange (OLIVER JACKSON-COHEN) in Towards Zero. (© BBC/Mammoth Screen/James Pardon)

WATCH

All three episodes of Towards Zero are available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.

New episodes air weekly on Sundays on BBC One at 9pm.