Telling the interwoven stories of a number of individuals and families across Europe at the beginning of WWII, World on Fire is billed as an ‘emotionally gripping’ drama that will leave viewers captivated. The sand dunes will feature in a particularly pivotal scene: a depiction of Operation Dynamo – the Dunkirk evacuations of 1940.

“We first met with the producers from Mammoth Screen in early January,” says Amy Pennington, our Fylde Sand Dunes Project Community Engagement Officer. “They came down to North Beach to discuss the possibility of using it as a filming location. They conducted a nationwide search and very quickly established that the dunes, large expanse of open, sandy beach and access to a nearby car park made North Beach the perfect spot.”

The World on Fire crew arrived on the beach on 4 February and left on 17 February, though filming itself took place over just three days. The area was closed off to the public, but Amy and Andy (who also works on our Fylde Sand Dunes Project) were granted special access to the set.

“It was amazing to see the work that goes into filming a drama like this,” Amy told us. “Despite filming only taking three days, a huge amount of time was spent ‘dressing’ and undressing the beach. All the scattered materials and set pieces were placed on top of a mesh net that was buried in the sand, so they could be collected easily at the end of shooting.”

But Amy and Andy weren’t just on-set to take pictures, talk to the extras and get an incredible insight into the filming process of an epic BBC drama; they were very much involved in the filming process and their main role was to ensure the sand dunes (a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI) were looked after properly.