2024 saw the launch of our Location Spotlight series, in which we went behind the scenes of a range of locations to find out what is on offer to filmmakers and location managers

Our Location Spotlight series was launched in 2024, covering varied sites from the historic Canterbury Cathedral to the modern Jockey Club venues. Location Spotlights are a valuable resource for location managers to dig more deeply into filming backdrops around the UK.

Here we bring you a round-up of the featured Location Spotlights of 2025.

Canterbury Cathedral

The subject of our debut Location Spotlight, Canterbury Cathedral is an iconic ancient edifice, and part of a World Heritage Site. The age of the building belies the modern facilities on offer to producers, with the filming regulations having been relaxed in 2020.

Since then, the Cathedral has hosted Disney/FX’s The Veil, starring Elisabeth Moss, and has had interest from a well-known fantasy film franchise, a major Netflix production, and a Ridley Scott film.

As Nathan Crouch explained to us: “In The Veil, Canterbury Cathedral plays itself, but we are open for it to double for other locations, real or fictional, religious or secular, and across a range of genres including, for example, science-fiction, fantasy, action, and thrillers.

Waddesdon Manor

We next went behind the scenes at Waddesdon Manor, a French Renaissance-style chateau in Buckinghamshire. Head of public events and filming Marie Stewart told us all about its filming credentials, with hundreds of TV shows and photoshoots having filmed there and more than 30 large-scale feature films.

Never Say Never Again, with Sean Connery and Kim Basinger, was the first production to use the interiors of the grand house, with more recent credits including Netflix’s Queen Charlotte, a prequel spin-off of Bridgerton, and the Crown S5, when Waddesdon Manor doubled for the Ritz in Paris.

As well as the wide range of period interiors and elaborate grounds, Waddesdon Manor also offers a 1,000-space hardstanding car park to use as a unit base that can also be rented to nearby crews as required.

Inner Temple

The Inner Temple is an historic professional association for barristers and judges, and is one of the four Inns of Court.

We spoke to Nadia Ruiz about what is on offer to filmmakers, who explained that “the interiors of our Treasury Building and all external areas of The Inner Temple estate are available for filming. We also have the prestigious Temple Church within the grounds of the estate.”

High-profile productions that the Inner Temple has hosted include Mission Impossible 5, Mary Poppins Returns, Downton Abbey, Silk, Operation Mincemeat, The Nevers, David Copperfield, Silent Witness, Great Expectations, Anatomy of a Scandal, Damage and Taboo.

Although many of the architectural backdrops are period, there are also modern interiors, including a much-filmed lecture hall.

The Jockey Club

The Jockey Club owns a wide range of venues and provides much more than outdoor racecourse backdrops. The organisation’s Tracy Rusbridge expanded on the offering in our August Location Spotlight:

“Our London courses, including Sandown Park, Kempton Park, and Epsom Downs, are particularly popular due to their convenient location within the M25 in Surrey. Films including Love Actually, Eddie the Eagle, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and Bohemian Rhapsody have all had scenes shot at our London locations.

“On the television side, popular shows like Outnumbered and Miranda have filmed with us, while major brands such as Sainsbury’s and the National Lottery have chosen our venues for their TV commercials.”

The Jockey Club has a range of airy, modern interiors, that easily double for eg airport terminals and baggage reclaim areas, as well as industrial-looking kitchens.

Addington Palace

Next up was Addington Palace, a five-storey, Grade II* listed Palladian-style mansion, set in more than 160 acres of countryside.

Sean Power told us more about the location offering, including accommodation for around 40 people – useful due to the proximity to Gatwick Airport – and a unit base with 200 parking spaces.

Since the site opened up to filmmakers about 25 years ago, it has hosted a range of productions, including Netflix film War Machine, Johnny English Strikes Again, Salma Hayek’s Tequila Herederos commercial and several music videos.

Sean summed up: “We can adapt the venue to fit a wide range of settings, from grandiose period pieces to more modern, flexible designs. Our varied rooms and floors, including abandoned areas ideal for set builds, allow for a creative approach to any production.”

Winchester College

With a raft of Tudor, Edwardian and Victorian architecture, Winchester College has provided a filming backdrop for a plethora of high-profile productions including several seasons of The Crown, Les Misérables, Anatomy of a Scandal and many more.

Emily Cordier talked to us about some of the productions the campus has hosted, and its ability to double for other locales. “In 2021, under stringent Covid measures, we provided locations within the medieval part of the campus for Anatomy of a Scandal. Here the College cloisters were used to double for parts of Oxford University, to great effect.
 
For Les Misérables, our smaller Chantry Chapel and Cloisters were used as the beautiful location in the final scenes where Valjean dies, although this was of course doubling for a French monastery.”


Amazing Space

Our final Location Spotlight of the year shone on Amazing Space, as we heard from the location agency’s Georgia Brown about the 5000+ locations the team manages, from lavender fields to industrial warehouses and from wind tunnels to historic dockyards.

“Traditionally, enquiries came through from production companies, and they still do, however we’re seeing an influx in the amount of production companies out there, albeit smaller. We’re also seeing a large number of brands reach out to us directly for content shoots, meaning our client base has significantly grown over the last few years.”

Amazing Space has worked on productions including music videos from Ed Sheeran, Rag ‘N’ Bone Man and Dizzee Rascal; commercials for TK Maxx, McDonalds, Jo Malone and Waitrose (the 2024 Christmas ad) and films and dramas such as The Great Escaper, Killing Eve, Luther, Bridgerton, Slow Horses, Gangs of London, The Devil’s Hour, Mickey 17 and Top Boy.

With many thanks to all our Location Spotlight contributors of 2024. The full-length versions of all our Location Spotlights can be found by scrolling down to Features, at the bottom of our News page. If you would like to appear in our new series of Location Spotlights for 2025, please get in touch with Alex Curry here.