Relaxing the rules around film sets in Wales was discussed in detail more than a decade ago in the Senedd, with the BBC warning it could move filming of prestigious dramas over the border, but proposals were dropped after opposition from campaign groups.
While the Rabbit Trap team had encountered other issues around filming in the country, the director called the smoking ban “the nail in the coffin” for its original plans in Wales.
“Both characters are chain smokers,” Chainey said.
“It gives the audience a visual hint at the anxiety they’re not talking about.”
The characters, Darcy and Daphne Davenport, are played by star of Slumdog Millionaire and Monkey Man Patel, and McEwen, who has appeared in Black Mirror and science fiction film Vesper.
There is also a key scene when they reconnect by smoking cannabis in the bath.
“The only workaround would have been using CGI (computer-generated imagery) to make the cigarettes appear to burn and produce smoke,” Chainey said.
“That would have looked fake and was out of our budget.”