The recent TV adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge, the novel he set in Dorchester, was filmed in various local places such as Maiden Castle, Cerne Abbas, Stonebarrow and Charmouth.

In the BBC TV drama of George Elliot's classic Daniel Deronda, screened in January 2003, Forde Abbey became the location for Daniel’s home, where he lived with his guardian.

Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D'Urbervilles, screened on ITV in 1998, was filmed on location in the countryside and villages of West Dorset.

Henry Fielding's Tom Jones was filmed by the BBC at Mapperton House and Gardens, Powerstock and on Golden Cap in 1997.

The Scarlet Tunic, filmed in 1996 and based on Thomas Hardy's The Melancholy Hussar, starred Jean-Marc Barr and Jack Sheppard. The film was shot entirely on location in West Dorset.

Jane Austen's Persuasion was filmed for the BBC in Lyme Regis in 1994. Parts of her novel, Emma, starring Greta Saacchi, Juliet Stephenson and Gwyneth Paltrow, was filmed in Evershot and Dorchester. New fiming took place during Autumn 2006 for a 2 hour adaptation to be screened on ITV in 2007.

The film Restoration, starring Meg Ryan, Sam Neill and Hugh Grant, was filmed in Mapperton House and Forde Abbey in 1994.

Comrades, the true story of Dorset’s Tolpuddle Martyrs, was filmed in Dorchester in 1988.

Jim Henson Productions’ film Gulliver’s Travels, starring Omar Sharif, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, used the unrivalled West Dorset coastline in many scenes.

The French Lieutenant’s Woman, screened in 1981, was filmed in Lyme Regis with its memorable image of Meryl Streep’s hooded figure on the Cobb. It also starred Jeremy Irons and David Warner.