Sainsbury's BFG Christmas advert filmed in Lake District locations

St Bees beach, Devoke boathouse and Arten Gill viaduct all feature in Sainsbury’s Christmas advert which stars the BFG alongside Sainsbury’s employee, Sophie.  

Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book character can be seen dashing along St Bees beach past a metal detectorist as he travels in search of great tasting food including salmon, Brussels sprouts, and Stilton cheese.

The BFG runs along St Bees beach in search of food (Image: Sainsbury's)

The lovable Giant is also seen next to the boathouse on the edge of Devoke Water in the Eskdale Valley and by the Arten Gill viaduct in Dentdale, which carries the Settle to Carlisle railway line over Artengill Beck.

Taxi driver Vicky Moore said she transported the actor who plays the metal detectorist on St Bees beach from the Howgate Premier Inn to St Bees earlier this year.

She said: “He was a nice fella. All he said was he was part of a film crew filming a Christmas advert for one of the big stores but he wouldn’t say which one and said I would have to wait and see. As we all now know, it’s Sainsbury’s.

“It’s nice to see our area on the telly as it is beautiful.”

Film crews at Devoke Water in the Eskdale valley earlier this year (Image: Sainsbury's)

Jane Donaldson, clerk for St Bees Parish Council, said: “We were approached by the production company who said they would like to film a short section for the Christmas advert at St Bees beach. It was actually filmed some time ago.

“The tourism team at Cumberland Council facilitated the arrangements. It was kept fairly low key.

The BFG can be seen in front of the Arten Gill viaduct in Dentdale (Image: Sainsbury's)

“You can spot it’s St Bees – particularly the view at the end when it’s a deserted beach. They got some good shots of other parts of the county too.

“All of this kind of thing is putting St Bees on the map. It helps to promote the beautiful area that’s worth a visit and make people realise that there’s more to Cumbria than just the honeypot areas of Keswick and Windermere.”

A shot of St Bees Beach with St Bees Head in the background is featured at the end of Sainsbury's Christmas advert (Image: Sainsbury's)

In a behind the scenes video, Brad Woolf, creative director for the advert, said: “It’s always a bit of a challenge shooting outdoors in the UK with our various weathers.

READ MORE: Bobby Donald from Whitehaven appears in Morrisons Christmas advert

“We’d have hoped shooting in the summer for winter might have been very easy but unfortunately, even then, we had epic tales of flooding and days lost due to inclement weather round the Lake District.

Film crews struggled with the inclement weather in the Lake District, despite filming the advert in summer (Image: Sainsbury's)

“That brought its own challenges. Fortunately, through great production skills, our director and production company, we were able to battle those and get through to produce what we think is going to be an amazing film.”

Emma Bisley, head of campaigns, at Sainsbury’s, said: “Collaborating with the Roald Dahl Story Company this year was a remarkable opportunity to tap into the nostalgia and heartwarming spirit that the BFG embodies and we hope that this advert captures the nation's hearts and fills them with joy.”