London in Film and Television

I am a realist. I believe that no place is perfect or even ideal, but if I could live anywhere, it would be in London on any number of TV and movie sets.

Why? I'll get to that.

Movies:

NIL BY MOUTH-1997

South London is highlighted in all its gritty glory in this dark story of thugs, junkies, and domestic abuse. I would immediately have to get used to the fetid stench of cigarettes and booze and learn how to defend myself from the near constant fighting and thievery.

It's no slice of heaven but I was astounded by the heart-wrenching love story between the two lead characters and felt that honesty was always a clenched fist away, ready to bust you in the mouth with little or no warning.

Shaun of the Dead-2004

Zombies were everywhere and they were quite hungry, but I loved how The Winchester pub and the local shops around North London complimented the action.

I understand the Winchester pub is actually the Duke of Albany Pub in the Monsoon Road, New Cross area. [1] It is a great Victorian place to go have a pint of lager the go upside some zombie's head.

Howard's End-1992

I really loved the elegant and charming home of the Schlegel sisters (Helena Bonham-Carter and Emma Thompson). It sits in a quiet square just north of Victoria Station.

I also was smitten with the stores in the film, especially where Margaret Schlegel shopped strategically. That particular shop is actually Fortnum and Mason, which has been around Piccadilly since 1707.[2]

Mona Lisa-1986

London movies do social realism better than most and this film is proof. There were so many great settings both gritty and elegant. I was especially taken by the Royal Albion Hotel in East Sussex and The Ritz in Piccadilly, as well as The Palace Pier in Brighton.[3]

Secrets and Lies-1996

A story about a working-class white woman who years ago gave birth to a black baby and gave her up for adoption, the film was set in many suburban locations, featuring modest, well-kept abodes. I got a real sense of the everyday London neighborhoods in Winchmore Hill and Southgate.[4]

TV

Fools and Horses-1981-1991

Ambitious and not completely honest market trader Derrick "Del Boy" Trotter and his brother Rodney hustle for their food in and around South London.

Yes, their apartment in the Nelson Mandela House, a tower block, government housing building (actually the Harlech Tower in Park Road, Acton) is a bit dingy, but the boys make it real homey, and quite tastelessly decorated.

Later in the show, Whitemead House in Duckmore Road, Bristol served as the exterior of the Nelson Mandela House.[5]

The boys frequently made their business plans in the "Nag's Head" Pub, a warm, intimate boozer whose exteriors were actually filmed in and around London.[6]

The market trading areas where they sold their wares was filmed on locations in Bristol, Hull, Ipswich and Salisbury. They were all lively places that I would love to see.

Are You Being Served-1972-1985

This favorite sitcom was set in the fictional Grace Brothers Department store in London. The store was inspired by co-creator Jeremy Lloyd's experience working for Simpsons of Piccadillys, which still exists.

While Grace Brothers employed class-conscious snobs, they were hard-working, interesting people who made the store a very active, interesting place.

Bottom-1991-1995

Chronic losers Richie and Eddie are goofballs who have no ambition and are too stupid to hold a job. They share a nasty, filthy flat in the Hammersmith section of London.

Hammersmith is an urban area west of London. It sits on the banks of the Thames River and is home to many outstanding cultural and historical sites.

Richie and Eddie are the kings of all things scatological and by no means good will ambassadors of the area.

The Bill 1983-Present

The title is a take off on the phrase "Old Bill," which is slang name for police. The show is one of the longest-running police dramas in the world.

It may be an inadvertent travelogue on where not to go in London, with many gritty, inner-city locations in the show.

The police headquarters where the show takes places is actually filmed in Merton, which is south of Wimbledon.[7]

Eastenders 1985-Present

The highly-rated prime time opera takes place in the fictional Albert Square, Walford Borough in East London.

The show features a self-contained neighborhood with shops, a pub, a launderette and a slew of market traders. The exterior set, which has stayed up for more than a quarter century and the interior shots are taped at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, about 16 miles north of London.[8]

So while viewers think they're watching live on the mean streets of east London, it's actually in a suburban area north of the city.

London offers plenty of old and new world places for any TV and Film set. It's got plenty of history and current excitement.

I have no explanation as to why I have not yet been there.

Someday...

[1]"'Zombies' pub put to the sword". South London Press. 2008-04-11.

[2] http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/h/howardsend.html#fortnum

[3] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091538/locations

[4] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117589/locations

[5] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081912/locations

[6] http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/fools/location.html

[7] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084987/locations

[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borehamwood