What does a car chase in EastEnders involving Phil Mitchell,
Lionel Bart’s 1968 musical Oliver! and the pilot episode of smash-hit seventies
police series The Sweeney all have in common?
The answer is simple: they’ve all used Bermondsey and Rotherhithe locations
as backdrops for filming. But, just what
is it about the arches and alleyways of this quintessentially British quarter
of South East London that make them so desperately sought after by TV producers
and filmmakers?
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| John Thaw and Dennis Waterman starred in The Sweeney |
Forged by generations of working class hard graft,
Bermondsey and Rotherhithe are easily the most photogenic and charming areas in London. Steeped in history dating back to way before the Anglo-Saxon
and Norman periods, Bermondsey and Rotherhithe have been the home and
playground of kings and princesses: from Edward III’s manor house built close to the Thames in 1353, to the bohemian warehouses used by Antony
Armstrong-Jones (later to become the 1st Earl of Snowdon) for many a
moonlit tryst with Princess Margaret in the sixties.
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| Ruins of King Edward III Manor House (Image from knowledgeoflondon.com) |
Let’s be clear: together
Bermondsey and Rotherhithe are a location scout’s dream. Boasting history, docks, wharves, green open
spaces, Victorian and Georgian homes and of course, a wealth of contemporary
architecture including the Shard, City Hall and sprawling 20th
century council estates, we have it all!
Don’t believe it? Local blogger
Bermondsey Boy has compiled an insightful directory of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe
based TV dramas, films, music videos and documentaries. Here are some of the highlights:
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| BBC's New Tricks: Series 11 Episode 1 'Bermondsey Boy' filmed in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe |
TV
EastEnders - car
chase with Phil Mitchell under Dockley Road bridge)
Doctor Who – BBC drama
series: The Doctor (Peter Davison) pushes a Dalek out of a Shad Thames
warehouse window
London’s Burning –
an ITV weekly soap that ran from 1988 to 2002)
London Bridge – a
twice-weekly Carlton ITV soap broadcast in the 1990s
The Sweeney – pilot
episode filmed on the Rotherhithe foreshore
Film
Oliver! – Lionel Bart’s 1968 toe-tapping musical
Three Hats for Lisa – starring Sid James belting out the
classic anthem ‘Bermondsey’
Documentaries
The Secret History of our Streets: Reverdy Road, BBC Television 2013
We Was All One – Ken Ashton’s iconic seventies fly on the wall of old Bermondsey and its people
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| A house on Victorian Reverdy Road SE1, star of the 2012 BBC documentary |
Music videos
‘No more lonely nights’ by Paul McCartney – filmed at the Old
Justice pub on Bermondsey Wall East and Chambers Wharf SE16
‘Got to have you back’ by The Undertones – filmed on Jamaica
Road and St Olave’s Hospital
 |
| Paul McCartney woz 'ere! (image from notjustagranny.wordpress.com) |
You see, Bermondsey and Rotherhithe have appeared on the small
and silver screens more than the average London location. In fact, The Shard, Tower Bridge and of
course City Hall can be admired pretty much daily on local and national news programmes.
Wondering where to begin? Start by exploring how the area has
changed from the 1970s to the present day.
And the best way to do this?
By settling down with a Bermondsey brew and watching a double-bill of the
must see seventies documentary We Was All One, followed swiftly by episode 1 from season 11 of BBC crime drama New Tricks, filmed at St Mary’s Rotherhithe and
along the Queen’s Walk and Bermondsey Wall; you’re in for a real treat. Oh, and don’t worry – Dennis Waterman only
sings the theme tune in one of them…
More information:
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| St Mary's, Rotherhithe |
Bermondsey Boy Blog (including links to TV, film and documentaries)
www.bermondseyboy.lefora.com/forums/583674/Videos#.U_i1CaOa82w
'We Was All One' - 1970s documentary (parts 1 - 5)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK3CVw4jKQk
'New Tricks: Bermondsey Boy' - Series 11 Episode 1 - BBC Television
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04fhjmq
Sid James singing 'Bermondsey' from Three Hats for Lisa
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eVms_tAN0E
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