A WILTSHIRE village has been transformed into 19th century Cheshire for a new TV series starring Dame Judi Dench.

Lacock is being taken over by a BBC film crew this week for the filming of its production of the Cranford Chronicles.

The filming got under way on Monday and will continue throughout the week.

The village's Red Lion pub in the High Street has been turned into Johnson's Stores, where Dame Judi's character Miss Matty Jenkyns shops for gifts for her family.

The pub has undergone a dramatic face-lift with the ground floor frontage being painted a dark grey colour.

High Street and Church Street is closed until Friday to allow filming to take place, with any firms breaching the closure rule risking a fine of £1,000.

The BBC film weaves together three different Elizabeth Gaskell novels to create a comic drama about the course of ordinary lives in a small town in Cheshire during 1842.

Each household in Lacock has received £100 for the inconvenience of having a major filming project take place on their doorstep.

This is not the first time Lacock has made a star appearance on screen, with the abbey featuring in the first Harry Potter movie, and the BBC's eternally popular adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice being filmed there.

Last year filming for the feature film adaptation of Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl took place in the village, with Hollywood beauties Scarlett Johansen and Natalie Portman in the two lead roles.