A FILM star visited the district for the production of a major new political thriller based on real events.

Keira Knightley was on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (K&WVR) for filming for Official Secrets.

K&WVR filming liaison officer Roger France said: “Unusually for us this film is set in 2003 – we are more used to being involved in period dramas with Victorian or Edwardian backdrops.

“As this was much more contemporary it was challenging for us to provide what was wanted, but I think the film’s director was extremely happy with what we were able to do, and the filming went very well.

“People starring in Official Secrets include Keira Knightley and Matt Smith, though we just working with Keira Knightley.

“We also had a lot of preparation to do beforehand.

“Most of the activity was at Keighley Station – which was marked out as being ‘Cheltenham Spa’ station for the day – though the shooting involved the whole line.

“Official Secrets is being partly funded by Screen Yorkshire, and having part of it made here means it will have contributed to the local economy.”

Mrs Knightley has been appearing in feature films since 1995 and is well known for her roles in movies such as Atonement, Pride and Prejudice, the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and The Imitation Game.

Official Secrets – the cast of which also includes Ralph Fiennes, Indira Varma and Tamsin Greig – tells the true story of British Intelligence whistle-blower Katharine Gun who, during the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, leaked a top secret National Security Agency memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation against members of the UN Security Council.

The memo proposed blackmailing smaller, undecided member states into voting for war.

Journalist Martin Bright published the leaked document in The Observer newspaper in London, and the story made headlines around the world. The film is being jointly produced by Classified Films, The Gordon Company, eOne Features, and Raindog Films. A release date for the film has still to be confirmed.

No one from its production team had responded to a request for comment by the time the paper went to print.

Official Secrets is only the latest in a series of high profile television dramas and films to be made locally in the last few years. Other productions shot in the area include Gunpowder, The Limehouse Golem, The Great Train Robbery, Peaky Blinders, Testament of Youth, Lies we Tell, and Swallows and Amazons.