A JAPANESE film crew is coming to north Essex on the trail of one of the world’s most famous master forgers.

Tom Keating, who spent the last years of his life in Dedham, was a talented painter who fooled the art world with brilliant copies he sold as works by old masters.

He is to be the subject of a TV documentary in Japan and producers recently paid a visit to Dedham’s St Mary the Virgin Church, where the arch-imitator’s last painting is stored.

They are set to return to film scenes and even promised to pay for the reframing of the picture, which is in the style of Samuel Palmer.

The Rev Gerry Moate said: “They came just as I was locking up and expressed an interest in the Keating that we have here. They were keen on coming back to do some filming but so far I haven’t heard anything.”

John Brandler, who runs a gallery in Brentwood, where Lewisham-born Keating lived for ten years, appears in the documentary and accompanied the crew to Dedham.

He said: “The film crew was really keen on Tom. The interesting thing is that they have a different view of forgery over there.

“They can respect the skill that goes into creating a perfect copy, whereas over here the only thing that matters is the cost.”

Mr Brandler added: “As well as going to the church they found the house in Dedham where Tom lived.

They remarked on how nice people were to them during their visit.”

The painting by Keating, who died in 1984, is not on display in the church as other pictures have been stolen in the past. Mr Moate plans to show it to visitors at an open day tomorrow.