The latest episodes of TV hits such as The Crown and Call the Midwife and new drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office have pumped £1.75m into the Kent economy, it has been revealed.

Locations sourced by the Kent Film Office, an arm of the county council, were used by major production companies making dramas for networks such as Netflix, BBC and Paramount+.

The Crown series six utilised sites in Rochester, Sandwich and Gravesend to shoot scenes for Prince Charles and Camilla's wedding, Charles' visit to a French hospital and Prince William's time at Eton College.

The Call the Midwife Christmas special, aired on BBC1, was shot at Chatham Dockyard.

The Serial Killer's Wife, filmed in various locations around Saltwood, Folkestone and Dover, was aired by Paramount+.

The big hit over New Year was Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which portrayed the true story of postmasters and postmistresses wrongly accused of stealing money from the branches they ran. Parts were filmed in Sevenoaks, Plaxtol and Westerham.

Kent County Council cabinet member Cllr Clair Bell told colleagues: "A number of film and TV shows that you may have seen over Christmas had scenes shot in and around Kent, facilitated by the Kent Film Office.

"Altogether, it's estimated the productions generated an estimated spend of £1.75m into the local economy."

Kent is popular with film-makers because of it proximity to London and the variety of locations it can provide.

The Kent Film Office was set up in 2006 as an economic development initiative by KCC to generate inward investment into the local economy.

Not only can the service find suitable backdrops for scenes in shows, it provides permits for commercial filming.

Much of the office's offer is provided for free so that companies are attracted to the county but the consequential spend once the work begins can generate up to £10m a year.

But the Kent Film Office website states: "However, the actual economic benefit to the county is far higher than the £5m that is spent on average by productions.

"Industry reports show that looking at the whole of the supply chain such as crew going to a local pub after work, production buying supplies from local shops, bringing family down for visit et., the true economic benefit is closer to twice the original spend, that is £10m.

"In addition to this, there is an estimated tourism benefit of at least 60% of what was originally spent in Kent and Medway for certain projects."