A reality show was shot for two weeks in March on the shoreline, but very few people who know specifics are talking about it. Rumor has it it was "The Bachelorette," but nobody in any official capacity — from the state film office, a local tourist attraction where filming took place or the ABC network — would confirm that.

Ellen Woolf, production services coordinator for the state film office, said "All I can tell you is that there was a reality show filming in and around Old Saybrook ... from March 17 to March 28, give or take."

Robert Bell, president of Essex Steam Train, said "I am sworn to secrecy. They tell you you can't talk about this until it is within a week of the show. We want them to do this again. We want to shout it from the rooftop. When it gets closer, you'll hear about it."

Jonathan Kastner, assistant to the first selectman in Deep River, said filming did take place — "somebody wanted to do something at our town landing on the Connecticut River" — but he had no more details to offer.

Despite confidentiality agreements signed by people involved in the production to keep spoilers from slipping out, the mystery shooting made its presence known, loudly.

A Deep River resident, who did not want to be identified, told The Courant that rumors began when a helicopter was seen flying low following the Essex Steam Train and a helicopter was seen around the area also flying low, both sightings within days of each other. Locals who saw the copters believed footage was being shot from the aircraft.

"It was circling and zooming near the tree line. I thought it was going to crash," the Deep River resident said. "When it was flying above the train, it was zooming down, following the tracks. To see a helicopter flying that low is really unusual. ... It's a little disconcerting."

Although it couldn't be confirmed that a "Bachelorette" film crew, or any film crew, was in the helicopters, Mark Dixon, location services coordinator at the state film office, said when permits are taken out to film in a location, the production company doesn't need to specify that they will be using aircraft.

"A helicopter pilot in this area, as long as they are following FAA flight rules, does not have to get a permit," Dixon said. "Sometimes we know about it, sometimes not. ... They never stated to us that they were going to use any type of aircraft or helicopter. There is not a permit that would come from this office they had to filll out. We would not know that."

A post on www.bachandbachettefans.net, which boasts of "sleuthing and spoilers" on the "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" reality shows, states that Andi Dorfman, the new "Bachelorette," was seen filming in Essex in late March. Another poster on www.bachandbachettefans.net spotted Dorfman and cameramen at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville that same week. The Deep River resident said it was known around town that the show being filmed at the landing was "The Bachelorette."

Bell added that the show also did some filming at the Griswold Inn in Essex. A call to the Griswold Inn was not returned by press time.

Both Woolf and Bell said the show, which they would not name, will premiere in late May-to-early June. This year's season of "The Bachelorette" premieres May 19 and settles into its permanent time slot on May 26.

Cathy Rehl, a spokeswoman for the ABC show, would not confirm rumors.