The second series of the Channel 4 comedy The Mimic, which was filmed in Bristol earlier this year, will hit TV screens tonight.
The production team from the heart-warming comedy was based at The Bottle Yard Studios in Hengrove during its six week shoot across Bristol in January and February.
Locations for the six part series included South Bristol Crematorium, Blaise Estate, St George’s Park, Mina Road Park and Brecknock Road
Centered on the fortunes of Martin Hurdle, an everyday maintenance man who conceals an uncanny ability to mimic voices The Mimic stars talented impressionist Terry Mynott, (The Morgana Show, Very Important People), Jo Hartley (This is England), Neil Maskell (Utopia).
Cast also features Ralph Brown, Cavan Clerkin, Rebecca Gethings, Ami Metcalf, Ruth Sheen, John Thompson and Peter White.
Producer Stephen Abrahams, said: “Being based at The Bottle Yard Studios was a great help – with the whole team in their offices and stores, all together under one roof. It was a joy to have everyone working alongside one another.
“The support of Fiona and her Bottle Yard team, and the help of everyone at Bristol Film Office, was key.”
Fiona Francombe, Managing Director of The Bottle Yard Studios, said: “It was great to host The Mimic’s production team earlier this year whilst they shot all over Bristol. The Bottle Yard Studios is ideally located to access the wide range of Bristol locations the shoot required and made the logistics for the team much easier.”
Bristol Film Office’s Natalie Moore said: “We are delighted that The Mimic chose Bristol again for its second series and that we were able to assist the production with securing locations, arranging parking suspensions and unit bases. For this series they chose a number of Bristol’s parks and green spaces to film in, showcasing the wide variety of filming locations that Bristol has to offer. Productions like this help to cement Bristol’s reputation as a major production hub with excellent local crew and media facilities.”
In series two, Martin is struggling; having ditched his job in site maintenance to become a professional mimic he is finding paid work hard to come by. Martin’s uncanny ability to mimic voices is as strong as ever but with his son - and agent - Stephen going off travelling, Martin starts to lose his way. Then one day HMRC appears at his door chasing some back taxes and it’s official - Martin is in a slump and not even his voices can help him.
The Mimic is not just about Martin’s incredible voices; it’s also a warm, feel-good story about the perplexities of human relationships and how unforeseen surprises can alter the path of life.
Last month it was announced that Disney’s ABC Studios are to shoot major US network TV series Galavant at The Bottle Yard Studios later this summer.
Other productions currently filming at Studios include: BBC Two drama Wolf Hall starring Damian Lewis and Mark Rylance; BBC One drama Poldark made by Mammoth Screen starring Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson; series four of Sky 1 HD comedy Trollied with new cast additions Stephen Tompkinson and Miriam Margolyes; and long-running Channel 4 gameshow Deal or No Deal made by Endemol.
