VILLAGERS at Dilwyn looked on agog as a woman wearing a dog collar became embroiled in a furious row with a man before climbing in her Volvo car and roaring off.

As it happened, there was no need for concern. For a few glorious days, the community was treated to some fascinating behind the scenes glimpses of a forthcoming TV drama based on Herefordshire author Phil Rickman’s highly popular series featuring Deliverance minister, the Rev Merrily Watkins.

The diocesan exorcist at the heart of Rickman’s 12 ‘Merrily’ books so far made herself comfortable in a Dilwyn couple’s own home. Merrily, played by Anna Maxwell-Martin, has been described as “not your average country vicar”. Her newly acquired training, said to put her “on the dark side of the pulpit”, gives this crime drama a supernatural twist.

The vicar’s on-screen mentor is played by actor David Threlfall, well-known for his roles in Shameless and Code of a Killer.

ITV Encore’s three-part Midwinter of the Spirit , likely to be screened later this year, owes much to local people in various parts of the county.

Geoffrey Herdman and his wife, Hilary, received a knock on the door at Perrymeade, a house close to the parish church at Dilwyn, from a TV location scout in March. Within a short time, the visitor was back in Dilwyn with an eight-man crew.

By the time the cameras were ready to roll, the village’s High Street was closed to traffic for three days and the crew had grown to 60.

“It was a vast undertaking,” says Geoffrey, whose home will play a significant role in the drama.

“They took over a local farmyard; there must have been at least 20 trailers in there.” As well as trailer-loads of costume, there were even trailers with washing machines, he says.

Local people were charmed by the TV circus.

“The village was encouraged to come and watch,” says Geoffrey.

He explains the experience in his monthly column in the parish Dilwynner magazine. It’s hoped a DVD of the entire 90-minute film will eventually be shown in Dilwyn village hall as a Flicks in the Sticks screening.

Rickman, who lives near Peterchurch, based Ledwardine on an amalgam of the county’s black-and-white villages, Weobley and Pembridge. Filming went ahead in Weobley, though the busy A44 put paid to Pembridge as a location. But at Dilwyn, the location of the church and the Herdman’s house made Perrymeade the perfect choice.

“Our house has never been a vicarage,” says Geoffrey. “The oldest part of the house was a ‘College of Canons’ in the 16th century, so it did have religious connotations.”

The Herdmans were delighted to lend out their home.

“We kept well away from the action, but the house was taken over for 12 hours a day for three days’ running.

“My study was transmogrified into a kitchen,” he explains.

“There was a 30ft gantry on our croquet lawn, though we were seriously impressed when they cleared up and went over the grass with a metal detector,” says Geoffrey.

The only thing that went bump in the night in filming the supernatural thriller was the thorough clear-up operation which continued into the small hours. “While they cleared up until about 3am, we slumbered gently on,” says Geoffrey.

A red brick house closer to the TV studios has been used for most of the interior shots. “They’ve created exactly the same window as mine, adding net curtains and bottles on the window sill.”

If Midwinter of the Spirit proves popular, there could be a further series.

“They’ve got to keep us lot sweet if they want to come back!” says Geoffrey.