Due to COVID-19, filming in 2020 was quite a daunting activity. Thankfully, some productions managed to film through the rigorous tests and social distancing rules. Intruder was filmed in 2020, and there is nothing to give away that it was filmed during a pandemic.
The Channel 5 series has antagonized audiences, with some describing it as woefully bland and others insisting that it is a fascinating thriller. You need only check the #intruder hashtag to understand how polarizing Intruder is.
This piece will look at Intruder’s filming locations and what the series is about.
Intruder is based on a sea-side town in England but the series was filmed in Ireland
The town in Intruder mirrors the typical British seaside town, with rolling green hills overlooking shopfronts and menacing cave entrances along the coastline. The show doesn’t reveal the name of the fictional town, but we suspect that it is called Becksfield, as one of the main characters works at a local publication known as Becksfield Gazette.
Intruder was filmed in North Dublin, North Wicklow, and Galway in Ireland. Per actress Sally Lindsay, the weather in Ireland at the time of filming couldn’t have been better. She told The Radio Times:
“I mean, this is Ireland. It rains all the time. We were there in October/ November so we were really fortunate with the weather. There was nothing definitive about the time of year it is [in the script], but I don’t think it was supposed to be the height of summer because we’re wearing coats and stuff. So believe it or not, that was Ireland at its best.”
The cave system on Silver Strand beach presented the best location to film the cave scenes in Intruder. Sally Lindsay describes the location as ‘magical’, though she was initially apprehensive about shooting her scenes in the caves.
However, she came to love the caves as they provided shelter from the cold outside. “The caves were actually warmer than outside, we were so lucky because it pelted down with rain but we were in this lovely little kind of safe cocoon,” she told The Radio Times. “They were spectacular.”
However, the picturesque bat-harboring caves weren’t to everyone’s liking. Actor Tom Meeten revealed that the show’s writer-director struggled:
“Gareth [Tunley], our director who wrote it, actually has quite bad claustrophobia. So, he was struggling in the caves which I found quite amusing. This is the sadistic side of me.”
Intruder is a thriller based on the unfortunate murder of a teenage burglar
Intruder begins at a party in a large house owned by radio presenter Sam (Tom Meeten) and journalist Rebecca (Elaine Cassidy). The guests add to the excitement by sniffing up several lines of cocaine. After the guests leave, a couple of burglars enter through the window, and as they attempt to escape, a drug-riddled Sam fatally stabs one of them, Syed, in the back.
Upon realizing that his use of force was disproportionate to the threat posed, Sam and Rebecca plot a cover-up, which involves telling police that Sam acted in self-defense. The police at this quaint seaside town are financially motivated to look away and appear to lack forensic knowledge, so it appears like Sam will get away with it.
However, there are three major problems: Sam might tell the truth as his mental health deteriorates; the sole witness is increasingly getting cold feet and threatens to tell the truth; and, an inquisitive officer doesn’t believe the couple’s story.
Rebecca grows more steadfast as the series progress, however, and her determination to maintain her lavish lifestyle will motivate her to commit perhaps the most murderous cover-up on television. Tune in to Intruder to uncover the depths of Rebecca’s sinister plan.