London locations for ITV's The Halcyon
London provided some historic backdrops for new ITV period drama The Halcyon, which airs from 2 January.
The drama from Left Bank Pictures is set in a glamorous London hotel against the backdrop of the Second World War. The production office was at West London Film Studios, but the exterior of the five-star hotel was provided by 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, built in 1903 and currently owned by the London School of Economics.
Although the building is on the south side of the street which is technically Westminster, the rest of Lincoln’s Inn Fields is in the borough of Camden, the films needs of which are managed by FilmFixer.
FilmFixer subsequently arranged the road closures and resident consultation for a filming period between April and July this year.
Across the street from no 32, a tube entrance was constructed, surrounded by sandbags and gas lamps. In one storyline, the street is hit by a V1 doodlebug and period fire engines and ambulances were called in, making their way around the bricks and rubble, while smoke effects combined with jets shooting gas flames 10 feet high to re-create the horror of the aftermath.
Walter Hand, secretary of residents group Friends of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, says, “Halcyon was a great example of how film companies should interact with local residents.
“They ensured that despite large amounts of scenery and stage setting being constructed, visitors to the Fields were not inconvenienced and residents were not disturbed at night.
“Traffic management was well handled, and the normally intrusive large film unit vehicles were all well hidden in side streets.”
Serle Street and Portugal Street, around Lincoln’s Inn Fields, also hosted scenes portraying Blitz-hit London. FIlmFixer manages the film office for Islington Council too, and oversaw filming at the House of Detention in Clerkenwell’s Sans Walk, used as the hotel basement.
You can watch a clip of The Halcyon below.
Location photo via Juliet McConnell.
Also on The Knowledge
Freedom Scripted options Sebastian Faulks’ Engleby
Sebastian Faulks’ novel Engleby is set to be adapted for television by C4-backed indie Freedom Scripted, starring Noah Jupe.
Shetland wins double recommission
The BBC has ordered two more series of detective drama Shetland with the first (Series 9) filming this month.
Bank of Dave the Sequel begins northern shoot
Filming gets underway today (26 February) on the Netflix sequel to 2023 feature Bank of Dave with shooting taking place largely in Burnley and Leeds.
Filming underway on new series of Strike
Strike, The Ink Black Heart – the sixth instalment of the detective drama - has begun filming.
Feature film Lola and Freddie to shoot in London this summer
A new feature film, Lola and Freddie, will shoot in London locations this summer with Naomie Harris, Joel Fry, Jameela Jamil and Olivia Lee leading the cast.
Construction commences on BBC's West Midlands production hub as new series is greenlit
Ground has been broken on The Tea Factory, a new BBC production hub in the West Midlands that promises to be the BBC’s greenest building, with a new series featuring Billy Billingham to be produced in the region.
