Producers for the upcoming television mini-series Last Taxi to Kensington, based on the novel by the mysterious Helena O’Rall, have approached Stoney Grove owner Simon Tinsley about filming on the grounds of the Great House.

The novel, an examination of the heartbreaking choice between love and country made by RAF nurse Loretta Princeton, was originally set in Puckering and at the fictional estate of South Heppleworth. Producer Antony Appleton of Segovia T.V.  thinks Stoney Grove may be the perfect setting for his drama.

"It’s got incredible potential as a site," enthused Appleton. "The kitchen is perfect—looks like it hasn’t been touched since the Bombing. I see Loretta scrubbing dishes with her aunt every time I set foot in there. And the garden…there isn’t a better spot in England to film Arthur wiping the strong earth from his hands. Of course the vegetables are too big. They’ll have to go."

Despite Stoney Grove’s virtues, modern-day Puckering has failed to captivate Appleton, who has committed to filming the village sequences in Deering Cross, a hamlet in Northumberland.

"Change, you know, has really taken the soul out of Puckering," said Appleton. "There are too many Indian take-aways, too much traffic. It’s not the South Downs our viewers expect."