River Thames Film & TV Connections

The Thames seems to have inspired murderous thoughts with TV shows such as Morse and its pre-sequel Endeavour and spin off Lewis, Poirot and Midsomer Murders and the filming of the Hammer Horror films at Bray Studios. Bray is more famous today for its chefs! Locations in Windsor have been shown in a diverse range of films and programmes from historic to contemporary. Shepperton Studios is only 2 miles from the Thames and the iconic Pinewood Studios home to the legendary 007 stage is only 7 miles away, no wonder the Thames and its towns and villages appear. From London to Oxford discover some of the great film locations along the River Thames.

LATEST NEWS - The Marlow Murder Club

Marlow appears to be a popular place for Crime fiction. Coming to the screen in March 2024, Robert Thorogood has adapted his own novels for this series being aired on March 6 and 7 at 8pm on Drama and UKTV Play. Robert Thorogood is the creator of Death in Paradise and  his whodunnit stories based around Marlow feature local Marlow friends: Judith Potts, a retired archaeologist, vicar's wife Becks Darling and Suzie Harris a local dog-walker. The three get together to solve the murder of Judith Potts' neighbour. Set and filmed in the lovely and picturesque town of Marlow, next to the River Thames, the story starts with Judith witnessing a brutal murder whilst swimming in the Thames. The local police don't believe her story, so she decides to investigate for herself. The two-part series stars Samantha Bond as Judith, (Downton Abbey, Outnumbered), Jo Martin is Suzie (Doctor Who, Back to Life), Cara Horgan is Becks (Black Cake) and Natalie Dew (Sandylands, Bodies) plays detective DS Tanika Malik, who is in charge of the police investigation.

Discover Marlow for yourself.

Midsomer Murders

DCI Barnaby appears on television screens around the world, solving some bizarre murders, set in the midst of some of England’s most beautiful and tranquil countryside.You can explore the real-life Midsomer Murders locations in towns and villages along the Thames. Starting in Henley, there is a Midsomer boat cruise & afternoon tea, and a one hour walking tour on offer. Both are available at other times for groups. The town has featured in many episodes, and The Argyll Pub, where Barnaby & Jones meet up in 'Last Year’s Model’, has produced a guest Midsomer ale.  Henley has some iconic filming locations that lovers of the show will be sure to recognise during the walking tour, as well as learning a little about the history of this quintessential English market town. Graham Horn, Tours2order is a Blue Badge Guide and can offer Midsomer Tours for groups or individuals.

Take a Hobbs of Henley Wednesday Midsomer Murders cruise with afternoon tea, or charter your own cruise. The cruise passes several murderous locations which have featured in the TV sensation, “Midsomer Murders”. Henley often stands in for Causton, the HQ of Inspector Barnaby, and locations along the beautiful River Thames. Wed 1st May and 5th June 2024.

Marlow has developed its own Midsomer Murders Trail, covering only 17 miles (27km), you will very quickly find yourself immersed in scenes from Midsomer Murders. Following the trail, you can taste wine, sample local beer and sausages, spend the night in a filming location and walk the Chiltern Hills of Midsomer.

Discover which Brakspear pubs have been featured in the TV series, from thatch cottage pubs to renovated hotels.

Stay at Danesfield House, featured in two episodes: Blue Herrings and Judgement Day.

Download a copy of the Midsomer Murders Itinerary for Groups. 

Oxford & Inspector Morse

The streets and side streets of Oxford, combined with the iconic college buildings and their inhabitants, inspired Colin Dexter to make Oxford the base for his Inspector Morse series. The Randolph Hotel featured heavily both in the series and for Dexter in real life, where he could be found perched at the end of the bar or by the fireside. The bar was renamed after his main character, Morse. Inspector Morse inspired two other TV series: Endeavour a prequel set primarily in Oxford. A sixth series has been announced for 2019 and Lewis a spin-off from Inspector Morse and, like that series, it is set in Oxford. Kevin Whately reprised his character "Robbie" Lewis, who was Morse's sergeant in the original series. 

The famous haunts from the books and television series can be explored on an Inspector Morse, Lewis and Endeavour Official Tour. Gain a glimpse into the intriguing world of academia depicted in Colin Dexter’s novels.  (Tours run every Weekend at 1.30pm and more frequently at busy times of the year). Or why not visit one of the riverside pubs Morse frequented such as The Perch, one of Oxford’s oldest pubs or the 17th century Trout Inn in north Oxford.

Oxford is also the home of Harry Potter with places such as the Bodleian, New College and Christ Church famously featuring in many of the early Harry Potter films, helping to create the iconic gothic backdrop that became the unmistakeable Hogwarts School. A studio set was created from photographs of the Tudor Great Hall and used for the film shoots. 

Mystery and murder in Marlow

Westershire, the fictional county where the series Pie in the Sky was set, is based on Berkshire. Although scenes in Middleton were often filmed in Marlow and at Bray Studios. Three series of the Vicar of Dibley saw St Mary’s church in Turville (near Marlow) double as Dibley’s St Barnabus.

Heroes and villains in Hambleden

The Witches, Chitty Bang Bang, Sleepy Hollow, The Avengers, Nanny McPhee and 101 Dalmatians are just a few films of mention that were shot in Hambleden in Buckinghamshire. It’s also been the backdrop for a couple of television programmes too, namely Band of Brothers, Poirot and Midsomer Murders.

Hammer Film Productions

Hammer used country houses along the Thames for filming. Firstly, Dial Close, a 23 bedroom mansion beside the River Thames, at Cookham Dean, Maidenhead and then Oakley Court, also on the banks of the Thames between Windsor and Maidenhead. Five films were produced there: Man in Black (1949), Room to Let (1949), Someone at the Door (1949), What the Butler Saw (1950), The Lady Craved Excitement (1950). In 1951 Hammer began shooting at Down Place, a close neighbour to Oakley Court on the banks of the Thames (later known as Bray Studios) which was converted into a custom-fitted studio complex.

With its Victorian Gothic architecture Oakley Court was perfect for the gothic horror films. From 1955 to 1965 Hammer well and truly marked Oakley Court on the map of classic British horror. Oakley Court went on to be a major part of Tommy Steel’s classic musical Half a Sixpence (1967) and made cameos in classic TV show such as The New Avengers and The Professionals and in 1975, in Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In 1981 Oakley Court was transformed into the luxury country house hotel with its own polo team! Oakley Court provides an interesting base to explore along the Thames.

Windsor on Film

• The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead has been the setting for many successful films including Bray Studios and Oakley Court above
• Cliveden House has been seen in an eclectic mix of films: Carry on Don’t Lose Your Head (1966), Help! (The second Beatles' film 1965), Chaplin (1992), Yaadein (Bollywood film 2001), Thunderbirds (2003), Poirot (2005), Sherlock Holmes (2009) Cinderella: As the palace timepiece counts down the fateful strokes to midnight, the glittering gold face is that of the clock tower at Cliveden
• Dorney Court: Sense & Sensibility (TV 2008), Elizabeth (1998), Sliding Doors (1998), Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), To Kill a King (2003), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), The Social Network (2010)
• Eton College includes: Casino Royale (2006), My Week with Marilyn (2011)
• Royal Windsor Racecourse: Suffragette (2015)
• Stoke Park includes: Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), Wimbledon (2004), The President’s Daughter (2004)
• Windsor Great Park includes: Thunderbirds (2003), Harry Potter (2003 & 2004, 2010 and 2011). Midsomer Murders (TV 2004 & 2008), Miss Marple (TV 2008), Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013), Bridget Jones's Baby (2016) and Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017)

Details of all these Windsor locations and more can be found here.

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace has had its fair share of filming: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), The New World (2005), Jack the Giant Killer (2012), The Young Victoria (2009), Amazing Grace (2006), The Libertine (2004), Vanity Fair (2004)

London's Thames filming locations

There may be many iconic buildings and places in London, but the River Thames is at the heart of the city and has had some memorable film appearances.

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) – Millennium Bridge (AKA The Wibbly-Wobbly)
• Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016) - includes Eddie (Jennifer Saunders) knocking Kate Moss off a balcony and into the Thames, after which she is assumed dead. 
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) - An early scene sees Captain Jack in London, escaping with Angelica (Penelope Cruz), evading the King’s soldiers by exiting through a trapdoor and into the River Thames.
• Sherlock Holmes (2009) Includes: The unfinished Tower Bridge and sees Holmes and Watson being taxied up the river to a slaughterhouse, Holmes jumps out of the Palace of Westminster and into a taxi on the river below and an unfinished boat cascading into the Thames.
• Shakespeare in Love (1998) - set primarily in Bankside, Southwark, which was known to be the entertainment district during Shakespeare’s day, and now home of the Shakespeare Globe. Several scenes are spent crossing the Thames for Shakespeare to meet his love.
• The World Is Not Enough (1999) - an iconic boat chase scene on the River Thames. going past some of the city’s most famous riverside sites, including the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf and the O2 

Get a group together and take a guided film/TV walk

TAG offers guided walks for groups in London and Oxford:

• Doctor Who Walk, London - A two hour adventure along the banks of the Thames taking you backwards and forwards in time in search of the world’s most famous time traveller! Starting at Westminster tube station and ending at London Bridge this walk is a must for all Doctor Who fans. Stand in the very spot the Daleks invaded the earth in 1964, see where the Draconians battled the third Doctor thousands of years in the future. Actor and Doctor Who superfan, Jon Dixon is your guide, resplendent in his own Tom Baker hat and scarf.
• Harry Potter Walk, Oxford - Discover the inspiration for the Grand Hall at Hogwarts and see where some of the pivotal scenes were filmed for The Philosophers Stone, The Chamber of Secrets and The Goblet of Fire.
• Murder, Morse, Myths and Mayhem Walk, Oxford - Highlights of the Morse world – discover the many pubs he drank in, walk in the great man’s footsteps and see many of the locations from Morse, Lewis and Endeavour. Add a dash of Oxford history, some real life crime stories and a highly entertaining guide and your group is guaranteed a fabulous time! If you survive of course!

Interesting Fact

When is the Thames not the Thames?

In The Theory of Everything the beginning of the film shows scenes of the young physicist, Steven Hawkings, studying and socialising with friends at Cambridge University. In one scene, Hawking is shown acting as a coxswain in a friendly boat race. This was actually filmed on the River Thames at Windsor with Eddie Redmayne on set to recreate the event. Livett’s had crew and a project coordinator at the set providing safety and camera boats as well as various other marine coordination services.