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Stars attend Bergerac premiere in Jersey

BBC Damien Molony is being interviewed on the red carpet. He is wearing black tie. He has mid-length dark brown hair and a slight beard and moustache.BBC
Damien Molony said he loved everything about Jersey

The star of the reimagined version of the TV show Bergerac said he had fallen in love with Jersey during filming.

Damien Molony, who played detective Jim Bergerac, spoke at the show premiere at Cineworld in St Helier on Monday.

Zoë Wanamaker and Philip Glenister also star in the new series, which airs on Thursday.

The original BBC series, created by Robert Banks Stewart, ran for nine series between 1981 and 1991. Jersey's government, which committed £1.2m to the reboot, said it hoped the series would boost tourism in the island.

The event in the cinema is packed with smartly dressed people. There are photos from the TV shoot on the wall.
The premiere of the new show was held at a cinema in St Helier

Molony said he had not visited Jersey before the filming began but the locations had been "incredible".

"I love Jersey, I love everything about it," he said.

"To be back here with wonderful weather and a great crowd turned out, I'm so thrilled to share the first episode with Jersey before the rest of the world gets to see it on Thursday."

Molony said he had a two-hour lunch with the original star of the series, John Nettles, which he called "a pinch-me moment".

"He finished the lunch by saying Bergerac had been so good to his career and he hoped it'd do the same for me, which was a lovely thing to say," he added.

Timothy Renouf is standing on the red carpet smiling at the camera. He is wearing a white shirt with a black tie and a black collarless jacket. He has short brown hair, a moustache and a slight beard. In the background a woman, man and child can be seen walking along the red carpet. There are spectators leaning on a barrier behind the actor.
Actor Timothy Renouf said being part of the series had been " a dream"

Jersey-born actor Timothy Renouf said taking part in the series had been "a dream".

He said: "It felt like a slightly out-of-body Truman Show experience.

"We filmed in Vicq where I went to school and in St Brelade's church where my mum and dad got married.

"It was very strange working on the island that you're from, it was bizarre."

UKTV An actor in the role of Bergerac is standing slightly in front of three other actors - two male and one female. They appear to be in a police station office and they are standing in front of a clear crime scene board covered in photographs and writing.UKTV
Season One of Bergerac will air on Thursday

Executive producer Brian Constantine said it was "an honour to hold the Bergerac premiere in Jersey" and director Colm McCarthy said filming in Jersey had been "a fantastic experience".

McCarthy said: "The first time I arrived here I felt like this was like no place I'd been.

"It feels like being in California or southern France rather than anywhere in the UK - but it has a slightly small-town England feel to it as well.

"It's an interesting contrast and we wanted to embrace that slightly 'other' quality of the island, the quality of the light and the relationship with the sea and bring that on screen."

Philip Glenister is looking at the camera while standing on the red carpet. He is wearing a white shirt under a black jacket. He has medium length brown hair.
Philip Glenister said he had "a strong affection for the Channel Islands"

Philip Glenister, who played a character called Arthur Wakefield, said he had "a strong affection for the Channel Islands, so it's always a pleasure to be here".

The actor starred in the last ever episode of the original Bergerac series alongside Bill Nighy, Simon Williams and John Nettles.

He said: "It was a really enjoyable show to make so to be part of the new series is really special for me.

"We were here around August and September so the weather was fab, the people were lovely and the company was great."

Walking past Cineworld before the premiere, islander Boy Mooney said the original show had been part of his childhood.

"That's why we came to Jersey in the first place all those years ago," he said.

Jane Skelhorn, 72, said she hoped the new series would "actually show the island as well as being a good detective series".

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