Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535796
to start the drafting process, white card models, a few adjustments, simply opening the plan out so we could create depth allowing layering through the house that we knew they would both want. This would be a tough set to decorate, spanning twenty years in our story, but a home lived in for forty years. The series had a great team, led by Pancho Chamorro The rear garden of Stephen's house would also serve as a great tool to show the passage of time, twenty years, from a garden once revered by Stephen and Nancy, to the overgrown version seen in the final part. The growth of the apple tree, the lack of care of the tree, the final splitting of the trunk and its death. The same for the garden shed. All amazing work from the greens team. Of course, the production's original intention was to shoot in chronological order, but COVID was hot on our heels. These two homes—Catherine's in Notting Hill, and Stephen's in Archway—were meant to be our key builds. In early production meetings, there was still hope that interiors like the hospital, the drug den, Nick's flat, Nancy's café, and even Catherine and Robert's offices could be shot on location. That idea didn't last long. As the shoot schedule shifted—again and again—due to COVID outbreaks, availability conflicts and sheer logistical pressure, it became clear we'd need to build far more than originally planned. That opened a new set of questions: where do we build them, how do we rotate sets and how do we stretch our space to cover all the demands? The series took over an additional stage across the road from our main base to construct the hospital interior. It was an efficient solution. Then, in a moment of serendipity, we realized we could also create the exterior of the hospital by cladding the bottom half of our offices and reception building. That idea struck us on one of the early studio scouts, and it worked brilliantly. We looked at various locations to shoot the interior hospital. Day/night scenes were scripted, alongside the complexity facilitating such a long shoot, it was decided we needed a large composite set, with corridors, reception desks, a café, shop, offices, wards and elevators. Following the initial build A. STEPHEN'S HOUSE. ARCHWAY, NORTH LONDON. LONGITUDINAL SECTION THRU WHITE CARD MODEL. SET DRAWN IN AUTOCAD BY ART DIRECTOR JAMES SPENCER. B-D. STEPHEN'S HOUSE. GROUND FLOOR SET. BUILT ON F STAGE, OMA X. SET PHOTOS. A C B D