A LAVISH garden party was held yesterday to celebrate the filming of scenes from a £10m blockbuster movie at an 18th Century stately home.

The director and stars of the latest adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s classic novel Brideshead Revisited gathered at Castle Howard, near Malton, North Yorkshire, for the launch.

Scenes from the period drama, which stars Matthew Goode in the lead role of Charles Ryder, were filmed at Castle Howard last year.

The remake also features stage and screen stars Michael Gambon and Emma Thompson as Lord and Lady Marchmain.

Castle Howard was used as the location for Brideshead Castle in the Eighties television series, which starred Jeremy Irons as Ryder.

It has reprised its role in the multi-million pound remake.

Julian Jarrold, who directed the new adaptation, was also at the party, along with Hayley Atwell, who plays Ryder’s love interest, Julia Flyte.

Earlier, the North’s first screening of the remake had taken place, for invited guests, in York Picturehouse. The remake is due to be released in cinemas on October 3.

Film crews descended on the stately home in June last year, spending five frantic weeks on location, shooting scenes for the remake.

Just as it did more than 25 years ago, the great house plays a crucial role in filming.

Local extras, auditioned in Malton and York, were used in ballroom scenes and as soldiers, and hounds from the Middleton Hunt starred in hunt scenes. Other locations for the remake included Oxford, London, Venice and Morocco.

Castle Howard owner Simon Howard said: “We had great fun hosting the filming, and seeing Castle Howard revisit its role as Brideshead.

“The cast and crew were fantastic to work with, and we enjoyed having them here.

“When Brideshead Revisited was first broadcast on British television in 1981, it caused a sensation.

By Andy Walker andy.walker@nne.co.uk “For years afterwards, Castle Howard was identified with the fictional Brideshead Castle.

“With the release of a new film version, another generation of viewers will associate this house with the story.”

Brideshead Revisited is the memoirs of Captain Charles Ryder, who is stationed at Brideshead Castle during the Second World War.

He recalls his involvement with the owners of the Brideshead estate, the aristocratic Flyte family, in particular brother and sister Sebastian and Julia.

An exhibition charting Castle Howard’s relationship with Brideshead Revisited, called Brideshead Restored, was launched last month.

Stretching over three onceabandoned rooms, the exhibition shows how they were ruined in a fire in 1940, restored and used in the film.

It also gives visitors a chance to see the sets, go behind the scenes of the film, and show how the filming of both productions helped restore the house.

Entry to the exhibition is included in admission to Castle Howard.

For more information, visit castlehoward.co.uk