CANVEY became the location for a hit BBC show yesterday as a film crew came to the island.

The cast and crew of Silent Witness were on the seafront to film in the car park of the Lobster Smack and on the beach.

Stars of the show, including Emilia Fox and Richard Lintern, also filmed at Coryton, on Monday, and Southend, on Sunday, for the upcoming series.

David Caves was seen on set getting into character as pathologist Jack Hodgson.

Amy Beach, manager of the Lobster Smack, said she was thrilled to have the TV crew film at the pub.

She said: “They approached us and asked if they could film here and we were more than happy to let them.

“They were just filming for the day and didn’t use the inside of the pub. We were open for business as normal, but there was quite a bit of interest in what was going on.”

Renamed “The Old Lag”, the pub provided a backdrop for the cast as they filmed the 18th series of the crime drama.

Miss Beach added: “It’s had quite a bit of interest, but we haven’t been told a lot really. I don’t think the episode will be on TV for a while.”

Jon Rowe, assistant script editor for Silent Witness, said: “The scenes being shot on Canvey form part of a new Silent Witness story set in Essex, centring on the investigation into themurder of a young police officer.”

Actress Emilia Fox took to Twitter to address fans’ speculation about the return of the series, saying: “Promise it’s coming soon, early next year I think.”

The episode, one of five twopart stories following the team of forensic pathologists as they investigate murders, is due to air next year.

CANVEY is no stranger to the world of film with Silent Witness being the latest show to choose the island as a location.

Furtherwick Park School was the setting for horror film Bloody Kids, a 1979 offering directed by Stephen Frears, who went on to direct the Oscar-winning moviethe Queen, starring Leigh-born actress Helen Mirren.

Scenes for the Essex Boys, about the notorious killing of three drug dealers, were also shot on Canvey.

Documentary Oil City Confidential, about the Canvey band Dr Feelgood, was shot on the island.

In May this year, fashion house Prada shot its autumn campaign on the seawall near the Lobster Smack with star James McAvoy.

The BBC4 history series Timeshift filmed a documentary about the history of extreme weather in Britain on Canvey in April and interviewed councillor Ray Howard about the 1953 flood.