Essex's Tilbury Fort has been transformed into the historic streets of Wapping for BBC One's mini-series Taboo, starring Academy Award nominee Tom Hardy.

Tilbury Fort was taken over by Taboo's production team for three months with several scenes filmed along the exterior of the fort which was transformed to resemble Wapping in the early 19th century. Scenes for the eight-part drama series were also recorded in the historic gunpowder magazines.

Taboo premiered on Saturday 7 January.

Built on the Thames Estuary by Henry VIII, Tilbury Fort has been important in defending London from enemy attack since the 16th century up until the Second World War.

Dan Collard, English Heritage's Property Manager at Tilbury Fort, said:

"We were delighted to host the filming of Taboo here at Tilbury Fort and are really looking forward to seeing the story of James Keziah Delaney unfold on screen over the coming weeks.

"We had to strike a careful balance between the protection of the historic site which is in our care and the film-makers' requirements, which I feel we achieved very well. It's a fantastic opportunity to show off Tilbury Fort in a really high profile production, and filming opportunities like these are a valuable source of income for us as a charity."

Set in 1814, Taboo follows James Keziah Delaney (Hardy), a man who has been to the ends of the earth and comes back irrevocably changed. Believed to be long dead, he returns home to London from Africa to inherit what is left of his father's shipping empire and rebuild a life for himself.

But his father's legacy is a poisoned chalice, and with enemies lurking in every dark corner, James must navigate increasingly complex territories to avoid his own death sentence. Encircled by conspiracy, murder and betrayal, a dark family mystery unfolds in a combustible tale of love and treachery.

Hardy, known recently for his portrayal of John Fitzgerald in the Acadamy Award Winning Revenant in which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, is also executive producer alongside Risley Scott and Steven Knight.

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