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Film London’s Winona Navin-Holder spoke to Ian Pollington, Supervising Location Manager on Slow Horses, about his experiences working on the London based spy thriller.
Could you tell us a little about the key filming locations for this season, and whether they were used for any particularly notable moments within the series that audiences might recognise?
IP: “We once again had some fantastic locations for this series, which I’m sure viewers who are familiar with London will spot once it hits their screens! Leather Lane Market in Farringdon, St Pancras Station, Petticoat Lane Market, and West Herts University all appear, the latter doubling for a fictionalised shopping centre. We shot a particularly exciting sequence across the Kings Cross Estate, and the Lighterman Pub, which I think audiences will definitely recognise. I won’t go into too much detail though on what unfolds…you’ll have to watch the show for that!”
Did you have a favourite filming location?
IP: “I wouldn’t say I had a favourite location as such. All came with their own challenges, as we knitted together the ambition on the page, with the reality and pressure of managing a busy shooting schedule with different levels of access. Ultimately each location brings something different and unique to the storytelling.”
Did you return to any key locations we might have seen in previous seasons?
IP: “Yes, we returned to several. The exterior of Slough House, which is a location split between Aldersgate Street for the front and St John’s Street for the rear alleyway. Cartwright’s house in Oxford, Molly’s basement in Oxford and Catherine Standish’s flat in Hammersmith. Now that we are on the fourth season, we have already established a ‘world’ that audiences are familiar with, which makes it easier to jump straight into the action.”
As you say, you’ve now shot four seasons of Slow Horses, working predominantly on location in London. Would you say London as a city plays an important role within the show?
IP: “London is definitely a character within the show. We’ve tried to cling on to a time slightly past – 5/7 years or so before today, to try and give it a grit and dirt, and do justice to the initial writing of Mick Herron’s books, and the idea that Lamb (Gary Oldman) is a relic of the Cold War.”
How important do you feel it is in creating a sense of place and atmosphere to use real locations as opposed to green screen or set builds?
IP: “From my perspective, ideally we’d shoot everything on location! There is a history and character to the architecture and streets of London that is totally unique and I think you really feel that when watching the show. Of course from a practical perspective, some things do need to be shot within a studio, whether that be due to the size of the filming unit, cast availability, the level of technical control required etc. But as far as practically possible we prefer to shoot on location.”
Could you tell us a little bit more about the location research and recceing process for Slow Horses? Did you take much inspiration from the book (Spook Street) that this series is based on?
IP: “My starting point is always to research backwards and I’ve certainly used the books in the SlowHorses series as a reference, to get an in-depth feel for the world we are trying to create and to ensure we are as true to the original work as possible.
“Working with Will Smith’s (Screenwriter) adaptation of the books, together with Adam Randall (Director) and Choi Ho-Man (Designer), has been a really collaborative process. I’ve been involved with the series for the last four and a half years and there are constantly new exciting challenges, that evolve series to series.”
A lot of Slow Horses is filmed within central London, including some very impressive action sequences, are there any specific challenges to filming this kind of content in such a busy city?
IP: “There are definitely challenges to filming in a city as busy as London, especially when you are working with a high profile cast and have many eager fans waiting to find out what happens next! However, we’ve had the pleasure across each season to work with The City of London Film Office, working with Mick Bagnall and Joanna Burnaby-Atkins, as well as Andy Pavord and his team at FilmFixer, who have all been consistently supportive in enabling our plans.
“Ultimately, the set pieces take time and meticulous planning. We’ve navigated through some challenging elements by building great relationships and trust. My team and I want to be the best in class, and ultimately be able to return to the same locations in the future!”
What was your overall filming experience like working on Slow Horses season 4? Were there any particular challenges, or highlights for your team?
IP: “I won’t give too many details away, as you will have to watch the show to see the action really unfold…but I would say engaging various stakeholders to shoot a dustbin lorry crashing into a car on a busy London street was definitely an interesting one! Or a chase involving firearms, and a grenade thrown into the Kings Cross Canal. Selling thesecomplex, high-octane action sequences all required a little lateral thinking! But I think we achieved the ambition we set out with and did justice to the writing, so I can’t wait for audiences to see all of our work come together on screen.
Having worked on all four seasons of Slow Horses, what is your favourite thing about working on the production?
IP: “My incredible Location Team…My very own... ‘Slow Horses’!
“Across the series we’ve managed ever-evolving challenges and along the way we’ve met people that had an existing appreciation for the books, who after seeing the show say that we’ve done the work justice, which is really satisfying.”
Thanks for chatting with us Ian, like all big fans of the show we can’t wait to see what happens next.
Slow Horses season 4 is available to watch now on Apple TV+, as are all previous seasons.
Watch the trailer here.