Noel Clarke says filming 'Bulletproof: South Africa' was an 'education'

Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters return as the crime fighting duo Bishop and Pike in the hit series, "Bulletproof."

This time the action takes place abroad as the London-based police officers get caught up in a kidnapping attempt while they're holidaying in South Africa.

Clarke, who is the show's creator and who also co-writes the series with Walters, "had a few reservations" about shooting season three in the country, because of its politics and history.

Walters, on the other hand, "pushed" for the idea.

"We both knew the history of South Africa, the problems that they had there. The disparity between the rich and the poor, racism, etc," explains Walters. " But, I also understood how picturesque, how cinematic it would be for the show and the value that we would get out there. So, we came to the conclusion that we go and we did it. Yeah, it was amazing. It was the best thing that we've done for the show so far."

"It wasn't something I was really interested in doing," recalls Clarke. "And then, you know, once it was locked down, everyone else was like, 'No, it'll be fine, fine.' We went there and had a wonderful time."

While Clarke says he ultimately enjoyed the experience "immensely," he describes the trip as "educational."

"Going through the townships and seeing the have nots and then living in the gated community and seeing the haves was not something that was lost on me. And I just think it was a very interesting country."

Once on the ground, Walters says filming, which was done using mostly a local crews, "was surprisingly easy a lot of time."

"We expected going into that it would be difficult. But actually, South Africa has a really brilliant infrastructure when it comes to TV and film, and they're really experienced. The crews are great," he says.

The biggest challenge, according to Clarke, was witnessing the poverty that exists in the region.

"Seeing people living like that in 2021, 2020, that was the challenge more than anything, because it's something I couldn't understand, if I'm honest, I can't understand how only eight years ago they had the World Cup there and they were supposed to build all these concrete houses and I literally go there and people are still in these townships and the concrete houses are half built because the moment the World Cup left, they stopped building."

"Bulletproof: South Africa" airs on The CW in the U.S..