ANYONE dining or enjoying a drink in Saltaire over recent months could well have rubbed shoulders with Game of Thrones star Kit Harington, who has been a regular in the village's bars and restaurants while filming there.

Mr Harington, star of new BBC drama Gunpowder, dined at The Terrace Cafe Bar & Bistro several times a week and other cast members, including Hollywood A-lister Liv Tyler, also ate there. The cast and crew were also regulars at The Terrace's adjoining property, Tallulah's Wine Bar.

RELATED STORIES

The TV drama, about the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605, also stars Peter Mullen, Mark Gatiss and Shaun Dooley and has been filmed around the district, at locations including Saltaire, Bradford College's Garden Mills building and Dalton Mills in Keighley. The four-month shoot came to an end this week.

"In February we had an email from the production team asking to book a table for nine, they requested somewhere quiet upstairs," said Tony Fouassier, general manager of The Terrace and Tallulah's. "When they arrived the party included Kit Harington and Liv Tyler, daughter of Steve Tyler of Aerosmith. Our staff were very starstruck!

"After that the cast and crew have been coming back to The Terrace and Tallulah's every week. Kit Harington was in every couple of days, he liked to come here for a meal and a drink after filming. He loved the fish soup and steak, and good wine!

"He's a big international star but a really nice guy, so friendly and relaxed. He came in with his girlfriend and shook our hands. I told him, 'I have never watched Game of Thrones but my staff love it'."

"They were all very nice people to work with and got on well with everyone here. Some of the cast were last in on Monday night, before filming finished. We're going to miss them."

Mr Fouassier said the visits were kept secret. "They spent most of their time upstairs and often arrived late as they were filming through the night," he said. "We managed to keep it secret for the first couple of months, but word got out on Facebook and Twitter that Kit had been spotted in the area. He also went to The Rosse to watch football, and to the Boathouse Inn and Fanny's Ale House.

"It's all good for local business. Some of the drivers on the shoot came to The Terrace regularly for breakfast."

Mr Fouassier revealed that The Terrace was first choice for the Gunpowder wrap party. "Kit told me, 'Tony, I would love to have the party here' - they were talking about using both The Terrace and Tallulah's, but it was for 75 people and they wanted an all-night party, which we don't have the licence for. They went to Leeds instead."

The new three-part production by Kudos for BBC One is set to be broadcast in November.

"We'll all be watching, I can't wait," said Mr Fouassier. "It's great that so many productions are being filmed in Saltaire. It's a beautiful old village. We get a lot of celebrities coming in, we had a couple of actors from Coronation Street recently.

"All the filming is very healthy for local businesses."

Mr Harington, best known as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, stars in Gunpowder as Robert Catesby, the driving force behind the assassination plot. The drama was described by Piers Wenger, BBC controller drama commissioning, as "unmissable event television.”

MORE TOP STORIES