What would you do if a stranger knocked on your front door out of the blue and asked if they could use your home for a TV show?

Soon viewers will see the result when a BBC crew took over Mike and Sarah Fendt's seafront home on the Isle of Sheppey and turned it into a movie set.

Their detached house on The Leas at Minster will feature in the final two episodes of Silent Witness which will be broadcast on BBC One on Monday and Tuesday (January 30 and 31) at 9pm.

Mike, 43, recalled: "A location scout knocked on our door in September and explained that she and the director Toby Frow from a BBC crime drama were in the area looking for a suitable property to use for filming and our house fitted their criteria.

"She gave me a BBC-headed letter with her contact details. As we had just returned from holiday and Sarah was in the shower, I said we'd call her back.

"We were both dubious at first so we ran checks online before ringing. They returned for a detailed chat and said they liked our large hall, big rooms and balcony, so we agreed to proceed."

Sarah, also 43 and a data protection manager who works from home, said: "The following week, eight of the design team turned up. A week later, they returned with a coach load of 22 crew. They were here for two hours, having a good look round, taking measurements and discussing colour schemes!"

After agreeing to hand over their home, for an undisclosed sum, the couple were put up at the nearby Abbey Hotel for two weeks.

All their furniture was removed – except for a fish tank and fish which might, or might not, make the final cut.

Sarah said: "An electrician was sent to change the lights. Curtains and curtain poles all came down. They even laid a new floor in the dining room and added a carpet upstairs. Everything was changed to the colours they wanted."

Mike, a fitter for National Windscreens on Medway City Estate at Strood, said: "It was exciting. I'd come home from work, pick Sarah up from the hotel and then we'd visit our home. The first night we arrived, there were blue flashing lights everywhere and an ambulance and police car in our drive!

"We heard someone shout 'action' and suddenly a fight erupted on our driveway. It was amazing."

He added: "One thing we must say is how friendly everyone was. They spotted us straight away in the crowd and showed us what was going on and invited us to look at the monitors. They were very respectful. How they do everything is amazing. The director told us a day's filming only makes five minutes of TV."

During the shoot, huge blackout curtains were draped over the couple's windows outside and the car park in front of the Little Oyster Care Home was transformed into a canteen for cast and crew. Some neighbours even ended up with generators on their drives and one had his home used as a 'green room'.

The stars of the show, Emelia Fox, who plays pathologist Dr Nikki Alexander, and David Caves, who plays forensic scientist Jack Hodgson, were also on set although the couple only met David.

Mike said: "We also met a couple of other actors. It was incredible."

The couple had only been in their home 18 months after moving from Sidcup when the knock came.

Sarah, who ended up working from her hotel room, said: "This has never happened to us before but we'd definitely do it again. It was a great experience, like a big adventure."

Mike said: "It was weird. Staying in the hotel, I'd get up for breakfast like I was on holiday but then I'd have to go to work."

Sarah has since put their home back to normal. She said: "The dining room was almost the same colour as ours but the living room was very dark, the hallway was also dark and the bedroom was a hideous colour they called coffee but it looked like dull gold. It was awful."

She added: "They made all the fresh paint look tired and old by scuffing it, adding scratches to the walls and scraping boots across the floor. It has all gone back to how it was, apart from the upstairs landing. They offered to get a decorator in but, to be honest, I enjoy decorating and did it myself."

The Kent Film Office estimates the production pumped £160,000 into the local economy over 10 days. The stars stayed at the Ferry Inn at Harty, 100 caravans were commandeered to house the crew and Sheppey Rugby Club hired out its field for film trucks to use as a base.

Scenes were also shot at the Rose and Crown pub at Leysdown, Shellness beach, Warden beach and land beneath the Sheppey Crossing.

Sheppey's late county councillor Cameron Beart said last week: "The Kent Film Office permitted the filming on public land, drone filming, helped implement traffic management and organised permissions from Kent Police to use police uniforms and marked police cars and facilitated parking."

The shoots often continued late into the night and attracted crowds of sightseers. Another episode was filmed near Gravesend.

The Kent Messenger almost made an appearance in episode three when staff ere asked to design a front page featuring that episode's storyline. But it wasn't used in the final cut.

The 26th series of the crime drama began transmitting on January 2. The final two episodes of the 10-parter called Southbay will be shown in the week beginning Monday, January 30.

According to the synopsis, Jack is sucked into a complex case when he is pitted against his former mentor. As evidence mounts against an accused police officer, the Lyell team unveils corruption and deceit with deadly and far-reching consequences...