from 2012
Neasden Studios are a collection of old industrial buildings that have in their time been a tank factory, a wine warehouse and most recently, a carpet warehouse. (In fact part of the building still is.) The current owner reckons they were used as a location to shoot a few music videos around 2001. In 2012 they were empty when ITV Studios were looking for somewhere to build a large set for their upcoming drama Mr Selfridge, written by the great Andrew Davies. The detailed and convincing interior of the 1909 Selfridges store was recreated inside the various spaces within the building. The first series aired in January 2013. A second series was commissioned, followed by two more. The set remained in situ until 2015.
Since then, the studios have been used by several films and TV dramas. They offer a large amount of space and plenty of supporting facilities such as make-up, wardrobe, prop stores and production offices. There are 4 main ‘studios’ plus one that is called Studio 1 but that appears to be more of a workshop, with white painted walls and skylights. In fact, none of the spaces has a grid or acoustic treatment so are probably best described as build spaces rather than studios or stages. This facility reminds me of The Bottle Yard in Bristol, similarly large industrial premises which have also been very popular with the makers of TV dramas.
The ‘studios’ are as follows:
Studio C: 177 x 138ft (24,500 sq ft.)
Studio D: 148 x 135ft (20,000 sq ft)
Studio E: 72 x 69ft (5,000 sq ft)
Studio G: 125 x 135ft (17,000 sq ft)
As can be seen, most of these are a very large size.
photo thanks to Neasden Studios
Productions to have used the studios include Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Wedding Season, Save Me Too, Magpie, Britannia, Star Wars: Rogue One, Peep Show and The Beekeeper. A large number of commercials have also been filmed here.
