A Buckinghamshire farmer has become an unexpected part of the UK's film industry after Hollywood productions began requesting to film on his land. Harvey Mash set up Bovingdon Airfield Studios after several movie productions, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, approached him.
The film industry now provides a crucial income stream for Mash, allowing him to sustain his family's farming business. He noted the difficulty of relying solely on farming profitability.
Bovingdon Airfield Studios currently features five purpose-built sound stages, workshops, and backlots. It has hosted a range of productions, from the fantasy series The Rings of Power to the World War One epic 1917, as well as films like Deadpool and Wolverine and 28 Years Later, and TV shows such as Dancing on Ice and Michael McIntyre's The Wheel.
Mash aims to expand the studio by increasing the number of sound stages from five to ten. He plans to achieve this by reinvesting 100% of revenues from film productions back into the site, avoiding the use of debt.
Despite the studio's success, Mash continues to manage Torrington Farm in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, where he maintains 200 head of cattle and arable crops, expressing his passion for farming.