Members of the Peaky Blinders production crew – along with a shivering canary – were among those needing emergency accommodation after being caught up in the travel chaos.
Dozens of motorists were left stranded in Huntly overnight after the A96 was closed due to snow drifts.
While 28 people were put up for free by the kind owners of the Castle Hotel north of Huntly, some locals offered up spare rooms for travellers with nowhere to go.
Among those offered shelter in Huntly were film crew members who had been shooting for the BBC gangster drama Peaky Blinders in Portsoy last week.
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The crew had with them a canary, though it remains unknown whether it was in the north-east to take part in the shoot.
After concerns were raised for the little bird’s safety, with only a tea towel to keep it warm in their vehicle, the members were offered a home to stay in overnight.
Keeping everyone safe
Di Mitchell, a coordinator of the Covid-19 Huntly and District Volunteer group, spent around three hours at the Asda car park ensuring everyone was safe and comfortable as they waited for accommodation to be sorted.
She said: “It was freezing, everyone was sitting in their cars, trying to keep warm, and Asda was absolutely fantastic keeping everyone fed and with coffees.
“There were a couple from Peaky Blinders, who had a canary with them, and we got them accommodated with a couple in Huntly.
“They were really worried the bird was going to die because it was freezing, the poor thing was sitting in the car with a tea towel over it.
“I don’t know if it was in the show or not, but they were trying to get back down the road.
“The Huntly community always comes together when it needs to, we have a lot of community spirit here.”
The five days of filming at Portsoy finished up on Saturday.
Stars like Cillian Murphy, who plays Tommy Shelby in the drama, had been spotted around the set and area during the past week.
Buildings all around the 17th century harbour had been carefully modified to make sure they looked like as they would in the early 1900s.
Portsoy, you've been amazing. Here's a message from our director Anthony Byrne: 'A huge thanks to the people who welcomed us & let us take over their town for a week. It's been an absolute joy. I can’t wait for you all to see what we've done.' 📷 Anthony Byrne #PeakyBlinders pic.twitter.com/ZY2UUY6N6T
— Peaky Blinders (@ThePeakyBlinder) February 12, 2021
The Elgin Shoe Repair company was asked by the costume department on the programme to quickly add some non-slip protection to some of the shoes used by actors in the show, to ensure nobody suffered any accidents in the icy conditions.
