Stars of Disney’s The Lodge back in Co Down to film new series

Cast and crew of Disney's The Lodge have returned to Co Down to film a new season of the popular musical TV show.

The all-singing, all-dancing show was a huge hit, with 14 million people tuning in across Europe.

Now on the back of the show’s success, the stars are back in Ballynahinch to film the next instalment.

David Levine, vice president of programming, Disney Channel UK, said: “The crew from Northern Ireland has been fantastic and it’s a big reason why we’ve come back.

“The cast is really excited and very prepared to hit this season running and they have been hard at work, practicing their singing, their dancing, as well as their biking skills.”

The teen series tells the story a 15 year-old girl called Skye who, along with her father, swap life in the city to take over the running of the family's country lodge.

Sophie Simnett, who plays Skye, told UTV: “I am so excited to be back for season two, we were so glad to hear that season one was such a success, so hopefully we’re going to try and top it with season two.

“We love filming in Northern Ireland, it’s great, we’ve got almost the same crew and they are all amazing so everyone is really excited.”

Co-star Thomas Doherty, who plays Sean, added: “The feedback we got from the first series was incredible.

“It was fantastic, and I’m so excited for everyone to see series two, the music’s fantastic, the choreography, the dancing, the musical numbers.”

Actress Jade Alleyne, who plays Kaylee, added: “I don’t want to give too much away, but there’s definitely a big mystery, just like the first series but everything is changing and the characters have a lot of obstacles they have to overcome so it’s nice to see how they go about that.”

About 100 cast and crew are involved in the production.

The back drop for most of the filming is Montalto estate with parts of it being transformed into the set.

Series producer Raymond Lau said: “There are several large productions filming at the same time, so it’s a great sign of growth and I think from our point of view it’s great to have the ability to have continuity of crew from season one to season two.”

The cast and crew will spend 13 weeks filming at Montalto and on location across Northern Ireland.

The new season will be 15 episodes long and will be hitting the screens in the summer.