Shepperton Studios has provided the backdrop for many popular television shows, including sitcoms and game shows.
The iconic Surrey film studio is in full expansion at the moment, as Netflix has announced a doubling of its presence in the studio.
Owned by Pinewood Group, which also owns Pinewood Studios, Shepperton Studios offers a range of different stage sizes for different purposes, from its 3,168 square foot E and F Stages to its largest stage, the 30 000 square feet.
READ MORE: Main road junction in Staines closed to disrupt traffic for weeks
Shepperton Studios is best known for its movies, but some of the country’s favorite TV shows, not to mention music videos and even video games, were also filmed here.
Some of them are film adaptations of classic TV shows – but there’s plenty of appetite for these studios on the small and big screen, which will only grow as Netflix’s expansion continues.
1. The Vicar of Dibley
(Picture: Buckinghamshire Live/Darren Pepe)
The 1990s BBC serial, starring among many others, Dawn French as vicar Geraldine Granger and the recently lost Gary Waldhorn as councilor David Horton, had large sections of its outdoor village scenes filmed in Turville in Buckinghamshire.
But producer Peter Bennett-Jones told The Huffington Post in 2020 that internal rectory scenes were filmed in a studio in Shepperton. He admitted there was quite a geographical discrepancy between filming in Shepperton and Buckinghamshire.
He said, “You were filming someone walking into the presbytery, which was a house right next to the church door in Turville, and you were just editing that with the shots inside, done in the studio.”
2. Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf, another popular British sitcom that credits composer Howard Goodall with its theme, was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and the series used Shepperton Studios’ D, K and L stages.
Shepperton Studios reports filming Red Dwarf as recently as Series X in 2012, and sci-fi series stars Chris Barrie, Robert Llewellyn and Hattie Hayridge were more recently seen in the county as part of Guildford Comic Con .
3. Daddy’s Army
The classic WWII-themed comedy series written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft ran from 1968 to 1977.
Although primarily filmed in Thetford in Norfolk (where it has even been commemorated by a museum), when the series released its first film in 1971 they turned to Shepperton Studios as their backdrop.
4. Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
The Britt Alcroft animation of the Children’s TV Train came to life at Shepperton Studios from Series 2-12 of Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends.
The train character models were built in 1:32 scale at Shepperton Studios, before the series began full CGI animation in 2009, and were shot on the L and T stages, the latter now known under the stage name Carol Reed.
5. Downton Abbey
The popular ITV series, which ran from 2010 to 2015, used Highclere Castle in Hampshire as its main filming location.
But in 2019, when his first film was released, some scenes were also shot on the R Stage at Shepperton Studios. There’s no official word yet on whether the studios are being used for the next 2022 film as well.
6. The puppet show
The Muppets revived the classic Charles Dickens story “A Christmas Carol” in a 1992 film, starring Michael Caine as Scrooge, one of the many actors who called Surrey, particularly Leatherhead, home. .
It was a rare Muppets film not to feature Kermit as a main character, and they clearly enjoyed their experience at Shepperton Studios – they were back for Muppets Treasure Island (1996), starring Billy Connolly, Tim Curry and Jennifer Saunders.
7. Dancing on the ice
The sixth series of ITV skating show Dancing On Ice saw it broadcast live in HD for the first time, and Shepperton’s J and K stages provided its setting.
The Pinewood Studios website explains that the location “allowed the production to have everything ‘under one roof’ using Shepperton resources and on-site tenants”.
The ice rink was at J Stadium, while the practice rink and catering facilities were at the adjacent K Stadium.
8. Doctor Who
It may be a world away from the current Jodie Whittaker edition of Dr Who we know today, but Peter Cushing’s non-canonical Dr Who, directed by Gordon Flemyng, filmed his Dr Who and The Daleks at Shepperton Studios.
It’s been reported that the H scene was used to recreate a destroyed London, and yes, the Daleks were on hand for the filming!
9. 8 out of 10 cats
Jimmy Carr, Jon Richardson and the much-missed Sean Lock were among the famous faces on hand when 8 of 10 Cats filmed their Series 18 in Shepperton during a shared set with Russell Howard’s satirical show Good News.
The panel, also famous for merging with Countdown to create 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, was filmed on the K Stage from October to December 2014. It previously had ties to the band Pinewood, with previous shows filmed at Pinewood Studios.
Sign up for our daily newsletter to get more SurreyLive news straight to your inbox. find how here.