Netflix’sBlack Dovesis intrinsically linked to London, and the locations where the spy thriller was filmed reflect how important the English city is to the series.Black Dovesis significantly different from thebest Christmas movies on Netflix. While it is set during the holiday season,Black Dovesfocuses much more on espionage, assassinations, revenge, lies, and investigations than Christmas shows likeThe Santa Clausesdo. Still, however,Black Dovesdoes still deliver the same heartfelt messages that make for a Christmas classic.
Another big wayBlack Dovesis different from typical holiday shows is in its setting. Instead of taking place in or near a family home,Black Dovesexplores every corner of London, from shady gang hideouts to the highest branches of government, like 10 Downing Street. The show presents a surprisingly thorough view of life in London, and its attention to detail is largely because of how and whereBlack Doveswas filmed.Black Doveswas filmed on-location, and most of its settings were real places in London.
Black Doves Was Filmed Almost Entirely On-Location In London
Only Small Portions Of Black Doves Were Filmed In A Studio In Slough, England
Black Dovesdoesn’t just take place in London during Christmastime, it was actually filmed on-location in the capital of England.Second block location manager forBlack DovesPete Wimblett said that the show filmed at over 100 locations across Westminster, the South Bank, and other neighborhoods in London(viaTudum). Chris Fry, the managing director of SISTER, the production company responsible forBlack Doves, said that being on-location was absolutely essential for the show’s holiday feel.
London at Christmas is so key to Black Doves that we had to be on location as much as possible. The city is like one big set at that time of year, and we would never have been able to replicate that to the scale we needed on a sound stage.
It’s also clear to see just how many real pubs, restaurants, businesses and other locations the cast ofBlack Dovesenter in the show’s first season.The show was filmed at several real businesses, like the Coal Hole Strand, the Market Coffee House & Bar, and the Liberty London department store. There were only a few locations that couldn’t be filmed at due to the business of the holiday season, soBlack Dovesused a studio in Slough, about 20 miles west of London.
Crystal Palace, Bromley
The Webb House Was In A Posh London Suburb
The Webb house, where Wallace (Andrew Buchan) and Helen (Keira Knightley) lived and raised their children, was one of the most prominent locations inBlack Doves. That house was not a set, and all the scenes that take place there were filmed in a suburb of London.The Webb house was located in Crystal Palace, Bromley, which is about half an hour south of London’s city center(viaAtlas of Wonders). The real-life house is reportedly worth about £2.5 million, both for its size and its proximity to London.
Golden Jubilee Bridge & The South Bank
The Site Of Jason Davies' Murder & Other Black Doves Scenes
A single bench along the South Bank of the Thames River in London plays a big role inBlack Doves. It’s where Jason Davies (Andrew Koji) died, where Sam Young (Ben Whishaw) first got his lead about Elmore Fitch (Paapa Essiedu), and where Helen frequently goes to reminisce about her lover.The bench where Jason died was a real location on the South Bank, just a few steps away from the Golden Jubilee Bridge he crossed moments before his death.Black Dovesalso filmed at a few buildings in the immediate vicinity, such as the Royal Horseguards Hotel, which is where Sam found the bullet casing.
The Black Doves' Spy Organization Explained
Keira Knightley’s Helen Webb is a secret agent in the covert spy organization known as the Black Doves in Netflix’s espionage series Black Doves.
The Royal Lancaster London
The Meeting Place For Reed & Sam Young
InBlack Dovesseason 1, episode 1, Sam and Reed (Sarah Lancashire) had their first meeting in a hotel in London.The hotel where Reed gave Sam his assignment and explained Helen’s situation was the Royal Lancaster London in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Sam then used the room at the hotel as his own for a few nights and took a fling there for casual sex, before his search for Jason’s killer got too dangerous to return to the hotel.
Holland Park School, Kensington
Black Doves Couldn’t Actually Film Inside The American Embassy
A big part of Helen’s mission took her to the American Embassy in the United Kingdom in London. However,Black Dovescouldn’t actually film inside the embassy, so all the interior shots were filmed at Holland Park School in Kensington. The exterior shots, however, were actual footage of the American Embassy.
Various Other Locations Throughout London
Black Doves Visited Hundreds Of Locations Across London
As a spy thriller,Black Dovesvisited countless places across London. From constantly changing meeting venues to maintain anonymity, like Helen and Reed’s meeting at St. Augustine’s Church in Kilburn at theending ofBlack Doves, to new locations looking for leads, there are almost too many locations in the show to list. The sheer number of real locationsBlack Dovesused across London is a testament to how intricate the show is, and how well it represents London at Christmastime.
Black Doves
Cast
Black Doves is a suspenseful thriller released in December 2024. It follows a spy masquerading as a politician’s wife who, after discovering her lover’s murder, joins forces with an old assassin associate to uncover the truth and seek revenge.
