A CROSS Roads restaurant and pub owner said he initially thought a call to his business from makers of a prime time television drama was a "wind up".

But Mark Hudson, who owns the Three Acres with his wife Jayne and son Tom, was shocked and delighted when their venue was chosen for a major filming session for Channel 4 drama series Ackley Bridge.

The production team, along with the lead actors and extras, spent a full day filming at the Bingley Road premises last Wednesday. (June 13)

The scenes were shot for the final, hour-long "cliff hanger" episode of the show's 12-part second series. Season two is currently being screened on Channel 4.

Mr Hudson, who has owned this restaurant and pub for six years, said: "For us to receive an approach like this was unbelievable. You can't buy this kind of exposure for your business.

"There must have been 80 or 90 members of the crew here and extras were brought in by minibus. The producer thanked us and said they'd had a great day here. We're proud that they obviously appreciated our location."

Two members of the Three Acres' own staff, Shannon Wells and Molly Edmundson, were enlisted for the day's filming to appear as bar staff extras in the episode.

Ackley Bridge, the first series of which was largely filmed in the Halifax area, is set in a fictional Yorkshire mill town.

It is based on the merger of two schools – one largely white British and the other mainly South Asian British – in a segregated British and Pakistani community, and explores the subsequent turbulent experiences of the combined school's pupils, teachers and parents.

Mr Hudson said he was first called by the drama's producers about three to four weeks ago.

"At first I thought it was a wind up, as I hadn't heard of the series," he explained.

"Then I thought that this involved an actual school, and they were wanting to film here to teach kids about media."

He said once he realised the full scale of the project, and the high profile of this particular TV series, he made sure to catch up on Ackley Bridge's first series online.

He said: "It's quite funny in some places, but sad and emotional in others.

"The film crew used our bar, as well as outside the front of our building. They even installed a mock bus stop on the grass verge across the road.

"Our neighbours over the road, Sue and Roger Wood who have Lees Moor Cattery, were also very supportive. They let the crew use their field for some parking and allowed them to film from there for long distance footage."