The ITV series Sanditon, which is based on an unfinished Jane Austen novel, has been filming at Ston Easton Park.

The show was filming at the former hotel from Tuesday to Thursday this week, having been renewed for seasons two and three earlier this year.

Sanditon is about Charlotte Heywood, a spirited and impulsive woman who moves from her rural home to Sanditon, a fishing village attempting to reinvent itself as a seaside resort.

Jane Austen completed only 11 chapters before stopping work in March 1817, and she died four months later.

The first half hour of the very first season one episode covers what Austen wrote, and from there the story is the work of screenwriter Andrew Davies, who is known for his work on Bridget Jones's Diary and House of Cards.

Charlotte Heywood is played by Rose Williams, who starred in the television shows Medici and Curfew.

Other stars to have appeared in Sanditon so far include Kris Marshall, who attended Wells Cathedral School and starred in Love Actually; Anne Reid who played Leslie Tiller in Hot Fuzz; and Kate Ashfield who was Liz in Shaun of the Dead.

Permission was granted for Ston Easton Park Hotel to be turned back into a private home last year, after the company that ran the business went into liquidation during the coronavirus lockdown.

Originally constructed in the 17th century and remodelled in the early 18th century, Ston Easton Park is noted for having a fine Palladian interior. Due to its exceptional special interest, the building is listed at Grade I.

It was given planning permission to be turned into a hotel in 1978. It has been used for filming before, being featured in Robert Altman's Gosford Park movie.