Beachside cafe stars in Hollywood film

Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch spent time in Salcombe during filming

A beachside cafe in Devon is starring in a new film featuring Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch.

In June 2024, film crews from The Roses descended on The Winking Prawn in Salcombe, rebranding the business into We've Got Crabs - a cafe belonging to character Ivy Rose, played by Colman.

The movie, directed by Jay Roach, was released in the UK on Friday and also features Ncuti Gatwa and Andy Samberg.

Lucy Culkin, 45, whose family has run The Winking Prawn for about 30 years, said filming was a "really a magical experience".

The Culkin family has been running the business for about three decades

The film, which cost about £26m, is a reimagining of the 1989 classic, The War of the Roses, based on the novel by Warren Adler.

Ms Culkin said film crews and cast members were shooting at the British seaside shack for about three weeks.

"The fun was palpable, the production team, the directors, every single one of them," she said.

"This [The Winking Prawn] was Ivy Rose's restaurant, which is Olivia Colman's restaurant, and she was such a dream.

"She was so much fun to work alongside and to work with."

Waitress Bella Lucas said the cast were "lovely"

Ms Culkin said the cafe's transformation involved changing menus, staff uniforms and signage to replicate the film set.

Salcombe's vicar, Reverend Daniel French, said production crews used the town's church for costume changes and make up.

He said: "It [the church] also became a little bit of a cafeteria for the 180 or so crew that were here."

To mark the film launch The Winking Prawn will become We've Got Crabs for about four weeks

Bella Lucas, 19, who is part of the Culkin family and works at The Winking Prawn, was an extra in the film.

Ms Lucas said she met a number of the actors on set and added "they were all really, really lovely people and everyone was just really normal".

The Roses is set in the US, and Claire Horrocks, manager at Screen Devon, which represents the industry in the county, said there was "a long history of Devon doubling as locations around the world".

"It's really interesting to see how The Roses have tapped into south Devon and the landscapes there and use it as a reference to San Francisco," she said.

To mark the launch of the film the cafe has been transformed back into the set.

Ms Culkin said We've Got Crabs would be open to customers for about four weeks, before the cafe reverted back to The Winking Prawn later in September.