Film shot partly in Westbury a ‘love letter to pubs’

Mother’s Pride, a new comedy drama by Nick Moorcroft, is set in a struggling local pub at the heart of a divided community and incorporates all of these elements.

The film features two competing pubs in an idyllic village on the borders of Somerset and Wiltshire: The Drovers, a struggling pub owned by the Harley family, and The George, the larger and more prosperous competitor across the road, owned by the wealthy Pritchard family.

When both pubs decide to enter the Great British Beer Awards, the Harleys are the definite underdogs.

Starring Jonno Davies, James Buckley, and Martin Clunes, the film follows a grieving family whose fortunes begin to change when they start brewing their own beer and take a chance on entering the Great British Beer Awards.

Many of the film's locations will be well-known to west Wiltshire residents, with scenes shown in the trailer reflecting local cultural life - the film will be released 18 months after the cast was seen on location in Westbury.

As reported in 2024, Mr Clunes was caught filming with fellow actor James Buckley on Thursday, August 29 at the popular White Horse monument.

Keen photographer Barbara Swan, 56, from The Butts, in Westbury, caught Mr Clunes after visiting the beauty spot with her brother Alan Swan, 66.

She said: “Look who was filming today, met him near the White Horse. We just caught him before he drove off in a car and Alan asked if he would pose for a photograph.

“Alan took a picture of me standing next to Martin. He was very nice.”

The film unfolds against the real backdrop of pub closures and a growing openness around mental health.

Buckley, 38, plays Jake Harley, a single dad who is coping with a marriage breakdown and the loss of his mother while trying to keep the family pub afloat.

The Croydon-born actor, best known for playing Jay Cartwright in The Inbetweeners, says he loved the opportunity to play a character who is both sweet and vulnerable.

“When I read the script, I got genuinely excited because it was such a lovely story. Even just on the page, it was full of characters I cared about. I found myself invested in them straight away,” says Buckley

Davies, 33, plays Jake’s younger brother Cal, a one-hit pop wonder who returns home after what his family thinks are years touring the world living the high life.

“The first thing for me was the subject matter, both on a personal level for my character, and in the wider sense of what the story says about the decline of pub culture,” he explains.

“A lot of that comes down to the financial pressure publicans are under. I think last year, a pub was closing every day in the UK, and with the new National Insurance contributions coming in, it’s only likely to get tougher.

“I think we really wanted it to be something that people could watch and come out of with a smile on their face, a bit of escapism from the brutality of real life at the moment.”

Moorcroft, 47, who co-wrote the film with his partner Meg Leonard, says the film was inspired by two real-life stories: a struggling pub in Wales being bought by the local community and a family-run brewery in Essex.

He adds: “In many ways, this film is a love letter to pubs, to community, and especially to family, and the power of family connections.”

Mother’s Pride was released in UK cinemas on Friday, March 6.