TV cameras and crews descended on Barrow Island today for the filming of a major new BBC1 TV adaptation of J.K Rowling’s bestselling detective novels.

Actors Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger filmed scenes at The Crow's Nest pub for the much-anticipated TV series of J K Rowling's Cormoran Strike books.

The creator of the global phenomenon Harry Potter series pens the best-selling crime novels under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

In the third book, Career of Evil , private investigator Strike (Tom Burke) and his assistant Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger) travel to Barrow.

In the novel they pass Barrow’s Craven Park rugby ground and there are references to the Crow’s Nest, the Olympic takeaway, Barrow Grammar School for Boys and BAE Systems. The characters also eat in The Last Resort in Cavendish Street. Ken and Jean Crosby, of Ulverston, said they spotted the superstar author in Barrow town centre back in 2014.

In the shadow of Devonshire Dock Hall, the crew filmed scenes outside the pub on the corner of Ferry Road and Stanley Road. Grainger, who has starred in the Borgias series and Mike Newell’s adaptation of Great Expectations, was seen driving an old faded Land Rover around the front of the pub corner and then going into the pub.

Friends Sheila Littletown, of Barrow, and Kate Wallace, of Workington, went along to Ferry Road to watch the filming and also to get a glimpse of Tom Burke, who starred in the BBC’s epic drama War And Peace as Fedor Dolokhov and in The Musketeers as Athos, and also to see Holliday Grainger.

The pair have been to other TV sets before, particularly for the filming of Outlander in Carlisle and Scotland.

Sheila said: "It's great to have filming in Barrow. I wish there was more of it here."

Kate said: "It's great to watch something like this happening in Cumbria because we don't get a lot of filming in Cumbria."

Pete Downing, of Barrow, said: "It's good to see some filming in the town. With how far out we are not usually involved with things like this."

Samantha Satterthwaite, of Barrow, said: "It's a bit exciting to see some filming in Barrow and with these old buildings."

The Cuckoo’s Calling Ltd is working on pre-production for the TV adaptation. It is understood that aerial shots of the town were also filmed for the project.

The Galbraith novels; The Cuckoo’s Calling , The Silkworm and Career of Evil are being produced as three separate event dramas.

Last week Mike Stephenson, the owner of The Last Resort, said the mention of his cafe in Career of Evil has led to overseas tourists from the likes of Japan and Sweden, and also UK visitors, calling in and asking about the book. He also welcomes the filming but reminds people that it is a dark book and Barrow will be reflected in the context of the novel.