Highgate Cemetery Visitors Told Not To Fear Nazi Stormtroopers Filming BBC Drama

Highgate Cemetery/Rex Features

Residents living near Highgate Cemetery have been told not to be alarmed at the presence of Nazi stormtroopers filming a new BBC drama in the area.

Producers of five-part series SS-GB sent letters telling people living in the nearby Holly Ledge estate not to worry about hearing explosives or seeing people wearing military uniforms in the cemetery over the next few weeks.

The letter said: “We plan to film a non-audible explosion, meaning you may hear actors react in a distressed manner for short moments at a time during takes.

“There will be actors dressed in German Army, SS and Russian military uniform, some will be armed – please do not be alarmed.”

The drama stars Sam Riley and Kate Bosworth and imagines what would happen if Germany had won the Second World War.

Set in London, it is based on the novel by Len Deighton and follows Archer, a Scotland Yard detective.

“Archer is a detective working under the SS facing the dilemma of whether to effectively collaborate or join the resistance,” according to the BBC’s description of the show. “[It’s] an “explosive thriller that will ask: What would you do, faced with stakes as high as this?“

Visitors to the famous cemetery, which contains the tombs of Karl Marx, novelist George Eliot and punk manager Malcolm McLaren, have also been warned about the use of fake firearms used in filming, but have been reassured there will be a police officer present when those are deployed.

The series is due to air on BBC One next year.