The Third Day – the island in real life
The Third Day episode one spoilers follow.
The island in Sky Atlantic's The Third Day doesn't feature in the cast list, but without wanting to get all GCSE English on you, it is, in many respects, a character in its own right.
It's both brooding and beautiful, offering up the perfect backdrop for one of telly's most intriguing new arrivals, as much a mystery as the rest of the key players.
Sam, played by Jude Law, desperately needs to cross the water and return home to deal with the money that he believes has been stolen from him and his wife, but is thwarted by the rising tide.
He's not only at the mercy of the islanders, but nature, too, which adds a riveting dynamic to the narrative as you ponder what horrors await him.
But is it a real location? Does this menacing yet magical place exist?
The short answer is yes.
The action was "mostly" filmed on Osea Island, according to Paddy Considine (landlord Mr Martin), which sits in the estuary of the River Blackwater in Essex.
It's owned by Nigel Frieda, the British record producer who launched the Sugababes and has produced The Rolling Stones.
It's unsurprising, then, that there is a recording studio there, and Rihanna reportedly rented a property on the island in 2019 to work on new music.
It's also played host to a number of festivals, gigs and events, and the likes of Sienna Miller, Poppy Delevingne, Jaime Winstone and other famous faces and socialites, both known and unknown, have enjoyed the island over the years.
Chatting to Digital Spy and other press about filming there, Emily Watson, who plays pub landlady Mrs Martin, said: "I think it's a little bit creepy myself.
"On a sunny day, when it's a clear sky, it's beautiful. It's right in the middle of that beautiful estuary there. There's amazing birdlife. But it's got all these quite creepy hedge tunnels and it's just got a sense that stuff has happened there. I think it was a rehab place for a while."
She's not wrong.
According to The Guardian, a millionaire called Frederick Charrington opened a rehab facility for alcoholics and drug addicts back in 1903.
The Causeway Retreat, which Amy Winehouse stayed at, ran from 2005 to 2010, and ex-servicemen and women suffering from PTSD reportedly still use the island as a getaway.
Watson also spoke about the tide, which wasn't the result of CGI magic, but exactly as it is in real life.
"Filming there was infuriating because of the tide," she continued.
"If you missed the tidal causeway, you then had to wait until the tide came in enough or... get a boat. There are only certain times of day that you get on and off the island.
"Say we're supposed to wrap at 8.15, and the crossing closes at 8.30, and then they'd call a few minutes grace and they'd go over for a bit. So there's a window of about five minutes for everybody to de-rig, wrap and if you're trying to get off the island, to go. That was a bit hairy."
"That didn't happen to me," she said when asked if she'd ever found herself trapped there. "But I'm sure it happened to a few people.
"I did go home at one in the morning on a speedboat under the moon. It was really quite extreme and weird."
Watson added: "But a lot of the time we'd stay the night. All that set, all those houses, were also cottages where people were living. So it was a bit like being at a really weird boarding school."
There are a number of period and beach cottages, apartments and the larger Manor and Captain's House, which members of the public (approximately 130), can stay in, for a hefty price.
According to The Guardian (back in 2016), a two-night stay during peak season starts at £490 and rises to £4,995.
Naomie Harris, who appears as Helen in 'Winter', the second half of the series, had no desire to stay on the island once her scenes had wrapped, which is understandable given that she was filming there during the coldest months of the year.
Her family, however, turned their set visit into a holiday.
"I found it really bleak [in the winter]," she told Digital Spy. "But my family came and I was like, 'It's really bleak here guys, so I'm going to head off before the tide comes in.' And they stayed for the weekend.
"They went picking seaweed and cooked it and went raiding other people's houses to get flour and had the most amazing time."
With That Which Shall Not be Named making international travel more complicated than ever, that's your winter holiday sorted.
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