Some locations in Finding Your Feet are so well known there’s no need to point them out really. But others will prove a little unexpected.
Imelda Staunton flees her Surrey mansion on learning her husband is having an affair, and heads to her sister’s north London housing estate, which is actually played by the Rodney Estate on Orb Street in Southwark.
FilmFixer manages the film office service for many of the locations used, including those in Southwark, Islington and Camden.
FilmFixer director Karen Everett says, “Imelda Staunton leaves her cosy life in Surrey and heads to her sister Celie Imrie on the Rodney Estate.
“You can see her arrival here in the trailer.
“Locations in the film like the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds are immediately recognisable, featuring joyous scenes of the sisters swimming as well as a sombre funeral wake.
“With the canal in Islington, and cycling sequences on Boris bikes, the film’s definitely captured the London look.
“Timothy Spall plays a love interest, Charlie, living on a canal boat. The scenes shot along the canal towpath and Colebrook Row in Islington were possible through our longstanding relationship with the Canal & River Trust.
“The trailer also shows a glimpse of the four characters walking up Holly Steps in Hampstead and into the The Holly Bush pub.
“In less easy to recognise locations, Joanna Lumley as the many-times married Jackie sits with Imelda Staunton (Sandra) and her sister on a bench in Nursery Row Park, near the Rodney Estate in Southwark.
“On Pancras Road in Camden the sisters huddle from the rain in a bus shelter.
“Our stars are seen in Hatton Garden where Charlie’s van is on the back of a tow truck. The production used qualified stunt operatives to show Charlie jumping onto the truck, into his van, and reversing off the van and round the corner.
“Josie Lawrence as Pamela is with Sandra’s (Imelda Staunton’s) wayward husband Mike (John Sessions) as they are driving along Perrin’s Lane in Hampstead. Mike’s grandson is in the backseat with his iPad, when he sees live footage of his grandmother Sandra dancing along with a flash mob at Piccadilly Circus.
“After shooting this scene, the production very kindly made a donation to Monro House Sheltered Housing.
“Having literally made the Rodney Estate its home for Imelda Staunton and Celie Imrie, the production also made a very kind donation to the Rodney Road Tenants and Residents Association to thank them.
“The film was shot in March and November in 2016, with a very discrete cast and crew of around 35 usually.”
At the end of filming Director Richard Loncraine told The Location Guide, “The London portion of the shoot has been a great success, and I’m enjoying it every bit as much as I enjoyed the script – a script that made me laugh and cry, often at the same time. I am genuinely thrilled to have taken this wonderful project from the page and on to the screen where it belongs.”