The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bath has been the scenic backdrop for many big and small screen productions, most recently in ITV’s current series Belgravia and McDonald and Dodds. Get your fix of the historic city’s graceful golden-hued buildings from the comfort of your sofa
Hollywood hits include 2012’s multi-award-winning musical film Les Misérables which shot scenes in Bath, with Pulteney Bridge and Weir standing in for 19th-century Paris. The film used the bridge as the location where Javert, played by Russell Crowe, takes his own life in a dramatic scene.
The Duchess, filmed in 2008 and staring Keira Knightley, features the grand Assembly Rooms and the Royal Crescent, as does 2004’s Vanity Fair, in which Reese Witherspoon plays the social climber Becky Sharp. Belgravia, the 19th-century historical series currently showing on ITV on Sunday nights and based on the book by Julian Fellowes, also filmed ball scenes for the first episode in Bath Assembly Rooms.
A special episode of Sherlock on 2015 saw Benedict Cumberbatch appearing in a cobbled Bath street, and you might have spotted Bath in the recent BBC One series The Trial of Christine Keeler, about the Profumo Affair. Rooms in the city’s Guildhall were used to film the Old Bailey scenes, and Abbey Green, a small Georgian square close to the Abbey, was used for scenes set in Notting Hill.
ITV drama series McDonald and Dodds, the recent series about an unlikely detective duo now showing on newly launched Britbox, used Bath extensively for filming last year.
Set to premiere later in the year on Netflix is the much anticipated American period drama web television series Bridgerton, created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Shonda Rhimes. Julie Andrews will voice the pivotal character of Lady Whistledown. The production company took over much of the city centre last year to film scenes for the series.
We round off our cinematic tour just outside Bath. The National Trust’s Dyrham Park and Iford Manor and Gardens near Bradford-on-Avon were prominent locations in Sanditon, the ITV drama based on Jane Austen’s unfinished novel. Iford Manor is also a setting for some of The Secret Garden, due to be released this month but now pushed back to August.
© 2024 