For the meeting between Campbell and Margaret’s parents at The Dorchester Hotel, filming took place at The Sheraton Grand on Park Lane, making use of its 1920s Art Deco furnishings. We see the couple arrive in style through the Private Ballroom Entrance before swishing through the foyer.
For another of London’s great hotels, Claridges, filming moved to Luton Hoo Estate in Bedfordshire. Now a hotel with golf course and spa, this mansion was built in the late 18th century and then lavishly refurbished in Belle Epoque style in the 20th. It’s a regular screen presence, seen in Gosford Park, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bleak House among others.
For a later scene at a party hosted by Margaret’s friend Jeanne, meanwhile, we’re in the extraordinary Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel, better known until recently as the Hotel Russell, in Bloomsbury, central London. With its intricate terracotta-fronted exterior and lavish Pyrenean marble staircase, it’s one of the capital’s most eye-catching and unlikely buildings.
Episode 1 sees Campbell inveigle his future father-in-law to introduce him to his gentleman’s club. For this, billed as Whites Club, filming took place at Goldsmiths’ Hall in the City of London. Founded in the 14th century, the vast building is the third incarnation of this guild hall, finished in 1835. It combines its traditional function with life as a venue for hire, and has been seen on screen in The Death of Stalin and 2016’s The Legend of Tarzan.
Finally, for forays into London’s nightlife, the cameras were set up in the Rivoli Ballroom in Crofton Park, south-east London. Opened in 1913, this venue is famed for its sprung dance floor and barrel-vaulted hall. Still resplendent in its mid-century style, its booth seating and leather upholstery are a flashback to the turn of the 1960s, given authenticity by its Art Deco origins. Unsurprisingly, it’s a popular film location, with credits from Killing Eve and Tom Hardy gangster movie Legend to Strictly Come Dancing.
A Very British Scandal begins on Sunday 26 December 2021 at 9pm on BBC One
