Where is Back to Life filmed?
Find out more about the coastal filming locations of the BBC comedy drama
Back to Life tells the story of a woman named Miri (Daisy Haggard) who is navigating life outside of prison after serving an 18-year sentence for a heinous crime.
Despite the heavy subject matter, the show is ripe with comedy, filmed in beautiful locations along the English coastline.
Find out where Back to Life is shot in our guide – and what exactly that huge block of concrete is – below…
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The cliff
The most striking location in Back to Life is Abbot’s Cliff in Kent, the scene of Miri’s mysterious crime. Throughout the series, there are sweeping shots of the cliff face and the sound mirror that sits atop it.
Sound mirrors are blocks of concrete that were built along the coasts of England between the two World Wars. They are used to reflect and focus sound waves and can pick up noises from great distances, making them useful for surveillance.
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They were installed before the invention of radar, and were used as early-warning devices by the military to detect incoming enemy aircraft by listening for the sound of their engines.
Back to Life isn’t the only production to film at Abbot’s Cliff, which previously appeared in BBC2’s King Lear.
The beach and promenade
Miri spends a lot of time cycling along the beach and promenade, contemplating her future outside of prison.
These scenes were shot on Fisherman’s Beach in Hythe, a small seaside town in Kent.
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The theme park
Next-door neighbour Billy takes Miri on a day out to a theme park to cheer her up.
As some thrill-seeking viewers might have noticed, the location is Chessington World of Adventures near London.
All six episodes of Back to Life were made available as a boxset on BBC3 on Monday 15th April and the show airs weekly on BBC1 on Mondays at 10.35pm
