New film sees cider mill swap good apples for bad

Somerset is known the world over for its good cider-making apples, but a new film set in the county might be about to change that.

New film Bad Apples tells the story of a teacher, played by actress Saoirse Ronan, who gets so wound up by an unruly student at her school that she kidnaps and locks him in her basement.

It was filmed across Somerset and Bristol, and also stars Bristol boy Jacob Anderson and schoolchildren from the area.

Showerings Cider Mill in Shepton Mallet is one of the locations, despite its managing director, Matthew Showering, needing to be convinced to say "yes" to the producers.

"It turned out to be quite fun," he said.

"I don't know how many people there were, but they turned out with catering crews, and there's an army of people.

"The cider mill was not really being used for anything apart from maintenance, and so we were able to give them the space."

While having the film crew there was exciting for the team, he said they would not be quitting their day jobs.

"Our business is making drinks and not as a film location, but would I consider it again?" he said.

"If the price is right."

The film's co-producer Benjamin Greenacre, who is based in Bristol, said the region is a "great place to film", and that "people coming from London or from America love being here".

"As work increases, I think we'll take more and more of a market share away from London, because it's so expensive... It's just not worthwhile," he said.

Greenacre also used a Bristol school to host the cast's table read to "set the tone", and in a twist of fate, it was the school Anderson attended as a child.

"It was lovely for him - he'd had a good time at primary school," Greenacre said.

"We all sat on these little chairs, and these little tables, just how I had it in my head, and read the script, and laughed."

Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.