24 hours in the Past

Here at BCLM, we were the first location of the series to transport six celebrities into the 19th century, or as they came to know it: The Dust Yard.

Tyger Drew-Honey, Miquita Oliver, Ann Widdecombe, Alistair McGowan, Colin Jackson and Zoe Lucker experience the harsh realities for workers in the 19th century.

While here, our time-travellers experienced Victorian life at its most filthy. Zoe and Tyger were tasked with cleaning the (horse) mucky streets, while Ann and Miquita struggled with carpet beating.

Laura Wakelin, BCLM Director of Marketing & Communications, said: “This was like no other filming we’ve had. They literally turned our usually well-presented coal yard into a dump, complete with mountains of dirt, rotting vegetables and old bones. The manure was sent in by the truckload and spread everywhere. The smell certainly added to the authenticity of our Victorian street!"

“Filming took place over a particularly wet weekend in October which didn’t make it any easier for museum staff, who spent many an hour with the film crew shovelling the huge amounts of horse manure off our cobbled street in time for opening to visitors.”

Visit the series web page at BBC's 24hrs in the past