FILMING began in Herefordshire this week for a new ITV drama series based on the successful Phil Rickman novels.

Cameras started rolling on Tuesday in Palace Yard next to Hereford Cathedral with scenes being played by Anna Maxwell Martin and David Threlfall.

ITV is filming Midwinter of the Spirit which is based on an adaptation of Mr Rickman’s Merilly Watkins books.

The programmes are expected to be on the small screen in 2016.

Anni Holden, spokesman for the Diocese of Hereford said: "It’s very exciting because the main character of Phil Rickman’s books is the Reverend Merrily Watkins, deliverance minister for the Diocese of Hereford and a local vicar too.

“The villages of Dilwyn and Weobley, and perhaps a little bit of some others, are going to be an amalgam of the fictional village of Ledwardine and the church where Merrily is vicar.”

Filming took place in Weobley on Monday and is expected to take place in Dilwyn for the next few days.

The film crews are expected to return to Hereford next Monday and be in Almeley the following day.

There are 12 books in the Merrily Watkins Series written by Mr Rickman who lives near Peterchurch in the Golden Valley.

Producers chose 'Midwinter' as the first original drama to be made by ITV Encore, a partnership between ITV and Sky.

The drama is a dark mystery that puts a female vicar – played by Anna Maxwell Martin – at the heart of a world of Satanism and murder.

Mr Rickman based the majority of the action on real-life places, including the cathedral and Hereford’s hospital.

Ledwardine is a fictional village, where the main characters live, although it is similar in character to Weobley and Pembridge.

Exterior shots of Hereford Cathedral will feature in the series but for the interior filming, Chester Cathedral was chosen as a location due to logistics and closer proximity to the film crew's Manchester production base.

Fans Keith Blundell and Susan Bradley went to watch the filming take place.

Mr Blundell said: "I have read almost all of the books. I am a big fan. They are researched well, although they are fictional stories."

He said they heard about the filming and were interested to see it take place.

Ms Bradley said: "It is exciting to see it being filmed. It might bring some notoriety to Herefordshire."