BBC's Great Expectations series includes shots of Marlow bridge

It didn't take an eagle-eyed viewer to spot Marlow bridge and All Saints Church in the background of opening shots of the first episode of Great Expectations on BBC 1 last night (March 26).

While the episode claimed to be set in London, the opening scene of the series showed both Marlow bridge and the nearby church behind actor Fionn Whitehead, who plays the story's protagonist, Pip.

The adaptation was filmed on the bridge in May last year, with the area layered with gravel and The Causeway populated with equipment, trailers and crewmembers.

At the time, Fionn Whitehead was seen practicing a jump from the bridge, a sequence now revealed to open and set the dramatic tone for the BBC series. 

A blue CGI curtain was also spotted on the bridge back in May, providing the 19th-century London setting of Dickens' novel, including the unlikely view of St Paul's Cathedral from Marlow bridge.

In the six-part series, which will air weekly on Sunday nights on the BBC, the town's bridge is standing in for the old Hammersmith bridge in London, which was demolished in 1884.

With Great Expectations set in 1839, the Marlow structure was an obvious choice for a stand-in, sharing the same architect in William Tierney Clark as the old Hammersmith bridge.

The adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel follows the life of Pip, an orphan who enters high society after unexpectedly coming into a large fortune. 

It was written by the Bafta-award winning writer and creator of Peaky Blinders, Steven Knight, and also stars Olivia Coleman and Matt Berry. 

The series' first episode has received generally positive reviews, with The Guardian describing Olivia Coleman's performance as "mesmerisingly sinister".

Readers can click here to watch the first episode now.