As yet another year of filming draws to a close, we look back at some of the fantastic productions who have visited us across 2023. Despite the difficulties of the actors and writers strikes this year, we’ve still had productions from far and wide film in the borough from an array of TV commercials, to TV Dramas galore! Check out some recent release highlights below…
Culprits
New drama ‘Culprits’ follows the aftermath following a high-stakes heist, where a crew of elite criminals have gone their separate ways and have tried to leave their old lives behind when a ruthless assassin starts targeting them one by one. The production visited the borough on multiple occasions throughout the last year with large shoots taking place on Roman Road, involving scenes including traffic management outside their hotel location. There were also some scenes involving a wounded character walking along the street, for sensitive filming such as this we enlist the help of the MET Police Film Unit who had officers present for public reassurance and assured safety of both the production and the public. Shoots also cropped up across the borough at East Ferry Road, Plevna Street and Marsh Wall. Here at the Tower Hamlets Film Office, managed by Film Office, we also facilitated some unit basing in the local area at the ever popular LEB.
You can stream all episodes of Culprits on Disney+ now and check out the trailer below!
Uber
Back in the autumn of 2023, Tower Hamlets had a visit from none other than the legend Robert De Niro! Filming for an Uber Eats commercial De Niro took to the streets of Shoreditch at Calvert Avenue to film scenes with Sex Education star Asa Butterfield. The ad follows the budding relationship between the unlikely pair as they share a love of takeaway food. Calvert Avenue’s picturesque red brick buildings and independent shops make for a perfect back-drop. Calvert Avenue and the Boundary Estate are popular filming locations and have featured in some big name productions such as Suffragette and Killing Eve.
Take a look at the ad below!
Slow Horses
Apple TV Drama starring Oscar Winner Gary Oldman has hit our screens for season three as Jackson Lamb and his team yield what might just be Slough House’s most compelling operation yet. Slow Horses filmed both seasons 1 and 2 with us in the borough back in 2021 so we were delighted to welcome them back again for more action packed filming.
Filming took place at a variety of our most iconic locations such as a very large shoot at Wentworth Street and surrounding area back in the summer, which involved a 200 strong cast and the dressing of the street to look like the market that usually runs from Sunday – Friday. This shoot also entailed a rather complex stunt of a character being thrown out of a window (no spoilers please!) and with careful planning and liaison across multiple council departments and the local area, the shoot went ahead without a hitch and looks pretty fantastic! Olwyn Hinds, the Film Officer on the job said “It’s such a pleasure when productions chose to return to the borough again and again for shoots such as these and just goes to show the filming friendly nature of the area. It’s fabulous to see iconic scenes come to life on our streets that provide such dynamic and interesting backdrops”.
Shoots also took place at several of our private locations across the borough such as The Holland Estate with a chase scene taking place throughout this red-brick 1920s housing estate. Slow Horses also made ample use of several of our fantastic private unit bases in the area such as Base East, Mile End Stadium and Tobacco Dock.
All episodes are now available to watch on Apple TV+ and keep your eyes peeled for Tower Hamlets in the trailer below!
Smothered
There’s a new Sky Original in town and this time it’s a not-so-typical rom-com. ‘Smothered’ stars Danielle Vitalis and Jon Pointing in a tale of two worlds colliding. Throughout this endearing story you can expect to see cameos from some of the lovely parks Tower Hamlets has to offer such as Island Gardens and Victoria Park, with shoots taking place at both of these. You can also keep your eyes peeled for Roman Road Market, Westferry Road and Pennyfields.
You can binge away and watch all episodes on Sky or Now TV!
We look forward to visiting many more productions in the borough in 2024, and from all of us at the Tower Hamlets Film Office – we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
