Excitement is heating up as filming gets underway for Ammonite. 

Hollywood actress Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan have been seen on set in Lyme Regis this morning.

The Oscar-winning star is playing fossil hunter Mary Anning and the film follows her fictitious relationship with another woman.

Fiona Shaw, of Killing Eve and Harry Potter, also appears in the film.

The area around Bell Cliff and Cobb Gate have been transported back to the 1840s and Winslet was seen venturing into 'Anning's Fossils and Curios.' 

Bridport and Lyme Regis News:

ON SET: Kate Winslet in Lyme Regis today as filming for Ammonite got underway

Producers have closed a section of the pavement from the Seasalt shop down to the steps leading to Cobb Gate car park to pedestrians.

A two-storey fake Georgian house front has been built outside the Seasalt shop and a fake stone wall has been placed in front of the bus shelter above Cobb Gate car park.

Bridport and Lyme Regis News:

STAR: Saoirse Ronan heading down Bell Cliff Picture: GRAHAM HUNT

Filming is taking place along the harbour, Cobb and Monmouth Beach over the next two weeks.

The film has been described as 'fantastic' for the area and Lyme Regis town councillor Jeff Scowen, tourism committee member, hopes it will 'put Lyme on the map' and 'do for Lyme what Broadchurch did for West Bay.'

Producers have submitted requests to Dorset County Council to use the highways, possibly remove three street lamps and to book the four parking spaces below Seasalt to operate a stop/go traffic management system.

They have ensured any work done to any of the buildings will be temporary, non-destructive and returned to ‘as-found’ condition.

The film, developed by See-Saw Films, the British Film Institute and BBC Films and written and directed by Francis Lee, will be set in 1840s England and follow Anning as she becomes a nursemaid for a wealthy woman from London.

Bridport and Lyme Regis News:

EXCITEMENT: Crowds gather to catch a glimpse of the stars

The film's plot has received mixed reaction, with some trepidation the focus on Anning’s relationships will override her scientific achievements and others praising the exploration of her sexuality.

The town last hit the big screen in an adaptation of John Fowles’ The French Lieutenant’s Woman, released in 1981.

The blockbuster – starring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons – was adapted by Harold Pinter and later nominated for five Academy Awards.

See-Saw Films and representatives for Lee have been contacted for comment.