A star-studded new movie was filmed at Chatham’s Historic Dockyard.

Scenes for Suffragette were shot there in February last year, adding to the stellar list of TV programmes and movies that have used the location.

Oscar winner Meryl Streep plays Emmeline Pankhurst, the leader of the suffragette movement, with Carey Mulligan as young activist Maud Watts, who turns to violence after seeing that the peaceful protests achieve nothing.

The cast also includes Helena Bonham-Carter, Anne-Marie Duff, Romola Garai, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw and Samuel West.

Suffragette looks at the early days of the campaign for women’s votes and centres on the ‘foot soldiers’ of the movement who were forced underground.

The script is by Abi Morgan, who also wrote the Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady, which won Streep her second best actress Oscar in 2011.

Faye Ward, producer of Suffragette, said: “We chose Chatham because we found it an extraordinary location that provided us with both the scale and period authenticity rarely found. It’s been a pleasure to film here.”

Tim Eastwood, 46, from Walderslade, is appearing in the film as an extra, playing a passer-by, worker and a laundry assistant.

“Being an extra is quite interesting and even exciting at times,” he said.

“But you can also sometimes be waiting around a lot to do a scene, or it can be quite tiring if you are on your feet most of the day, and cold if it’s in the winter.

"And the clothes are not always comfortable. It’s certainly not glamorous.”

Last week's London Film Festival opened with Suffragette and the movie goes on general release on Friday, October 16.