_Where Yesterday was filmed in East Anglia

Richard Curtis and Danny Boyle’s Beatles-inspired hit film Yesterday has Lily James and Himesh Patel as the leading stars – but Suffolk and Norfolk look great on screen too.

Patel plays failing musician Jack Malik, who wakes up after a freak bus accident in an alternate reality where nobody remembers The Beatles. To begin with, he plays the Fab Four’s songs from memory but then starts to claim the songs as his own. Lily James plays his manager Ellie.

Although Liverpool, Hollywood, Abbey Road and Wembley Stadium get a look in, much of the film was shot in Suffolk and Norfolk, using local schoolchildren and other members of the public. Gorleston café worker Rachael Wallace, 21, was cast as a double for Downton Abbey’s Lily James.

Local pop phenomenon Ed Sheeran plays himself in Yesterday, acting as a mentor for the miraculous Malik.

Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk

One of the key moments in Yesterday is Jack launching his album live from the rooftop balcony of The Pier Hotel in front of 5000 people on the beach and belting out ‘Help!’

Boyle declared Gorleston-on-Sea beach one of the great secrets of England: ‘It’s beautiful’.

‘I loved Gorleston, which is a town I did not know. It reminded me a lot of Liverpool, so it was perfect for a film that tried to summon up the spirit of The Beatles. It was a working port and you still see evidence of that but if you look the other way, you then encounter one of Britain’s most remarkable beaches and I am amazed that no-one seems to know about it.’

Other beach scenes are shot at Clacton-on-Sea and Frinton in Essex.

A house on Cliff Hill, close to the Cliff Hotel, features as Ellie’s cottage. The location manager didn’t like its colour though – they had it repainted from pink to cream.

Jack’s fateful accident at the beginning of Yesterday was filmed by the Ocean Bay Amusements and Gorleston Pavilion, across the road from The Pier Hotel.

Lowestoft, Suffolk

Lily James filmed her teacher character’s school scenes at Ormiston Denes Academy using some of the pupils. Director Danny Boyle even held a film masterclass for students.

Dunwich, Suffolk

Other shots of Ellie’s cottage were filmed at the end of the High Street in Dunwich, close to the beach. The High Street isn’t difficult to find – it’s pretty much the only street.

Halesworth, Suffolk

The High Street features a few times, with the café scenes shot at The Hideout Café using locals as extras. The film’s rainy High Street scene is Halesworth and The White Hart pub is also a location.

Henham, Suffolk

The festival scenes featured in Yesterday were all shot at Latitude Festival, held on the Henham estate in Suffolk. As producer Richard Curtis said, ‘Yesterday was written in Suffolk, set in Suffolk and begins and ends at Latitude. I’ve rarely missed a Latitude since it first began, so I’m overjoyed it’s in the film.’

Cantley, Broads National Park

Jack plays a gig in The Reedcutter pub in the little village, better known for being home to a large sugar beet factory.

Ramsholt, Suffolk Coast

The Ramsholt Arms, across the River Deben from Woodbridge, features when Jack leaves hospital. Ellie gives him a new guitar and he’s urged to play a song. He sings Yesterday, and that’s where the film takes off…