New London-centric dramacomes to Netflix today – here’s everything you need to know about where it was filmed.
The Scan**lous Netflix thriller features r, Rupert Friend and Michelle Dockery to tell the story of an MP who soon .
When rising star in the , James Whitehouse (Friend), has an allegation made against him by political researcher Olivia (Naomi Scott), their life looks set to be turned straight on its head.
at the case in hand – but viewers will have to watch all six episodes to find out whether James will actually be found guilty.
Created by Emmy winner David E. Kelley, and Melissa James Gibson, behind huge hitters such as Big Little Lies and House Of Cards, the six-part series looks set to promise high drama.
While lots of the external shots were filmed in London, the team behind the show recently revealed some of the clever tricks they used to get the essence of iconic buildings such as the House of Commons and The Old Bailey.
House of Commons
Filming of The House of Commons scenes took place in a number of different locations.
This included Charterhouse School in Surrey, John Rylands Library in Manchester, Lincoln’s Inn, Two Temple Place – with the latter based in London, near Victoria Embankment.
The lift which features in the series was built in the same location, as well as being built in Shepperton Studios. The exterior used an existing building and was augmented with visual FX.
The Whitehouse’s London pad
James and Sophie’s enviable London townhouse – which we could only dream of affording – wasn’t even a real building.
The property was also constructed on-set at Shepperton, and series director SJ Clarkson explained why the decision was made not to use an existing building.
She shared: ‘We couldn’t find the exact house/footprint.
‘Equally, with all the covid restrictions we faced, we decided a build would give us the scope and scale to stage the family/marriage scenes to give them the movement and energy as well as give us a controllable set to keep everyone safe.’
Oxford University
Fans will see a young James (Ben Radcliffe) in his element at Oxford University, where he is a member of the elusive Libertine Club.
This was, unsurprisingly, partly inspired by the real Bullingdon Club – the famous all-boys society at Oxford University – which Prime Minister Boris Johnson was a member of.
Famous all-boys public school Winchester College doubled for Oxford, where a lot of the external shots were filmed.
The Old Bailey
The Court Room has to be one of the most impressive bits of work of the whole piece, surprisingly not being filmed at the famous building itself.
The Old Bailey scenes were filmed both at Shepperton Studios and on location at Freemasons Hall in London, with the latter used as the Robing Room – with similar wood panelling.
The meticulous recreation of the Old Bailey Court Room included court documents and statements that had been hand-written by the art department, even though these will barely be seen by the audience.
‘No one watching was ever going to see them but, for the actors it just added a whole new level of veracity,’ said star Josette Simon.
The show’s Graphic Designer Ruta Daubure was responsible for keeping every document in the courtroom accurate.
Court two was created based on reference images and using elements from the corridors of the Old Bailey, bringing in the marble and colour palette.
Other details such as a painting of Justice were added to create a sense of connection to the famous court, and elevate the drama even further.
Anatomy Of A Scan**l can be streamed in full on Netflix from Friday, April 15.
