When it came to producing a drama featuring skullduggery, forgery and masters of disguise the combination of local talent and a stunning location turned fiction into reality.
New BBC drama Crookhaven follows eight students as they undertake their studies at a secret school for crooks, competing for the infamous Crooked Cup, all while battling a shadowy enemy known as The Nameless.
For a period of 17 weeks, an estate house and its sprawling grounds secretly underwent a complete transformation for filming.
That makeover was made possible by the local talent of Northern Ireland’s film industry, something remarked upon by actor Dougray Scott, who plays formidable headmaster Caspian Lockett.