House Of Commons In the Movies - Behind The Scenes Geek Guide

Admin
Jul 5
4 min read

The House of Commons, with its instantly recognisable green benches, imposing Speaker’s Chair, and storied history, is one of the most iconic settings in British public life. As such, it often features in political dramas, documentaries, and even feature films. But what’s the process behind filming scenes set within this historic chamber?

Can Film Crews Actually Shoot Inside the House of Commons?

Generally no but in 2022 according to the film-makers of 'The Ghost of Harold Wilson' (Not released as off 5/7/25), filming inside the chamber was allowed for the first time.

How are scenes in the chamber achieved?

To recreate scenes set in the Commons, most productions turn to detailed set construction. These sets are usually built in studios or on location and are designed to replicate the chamber’s architecture and atmosphere as closely as possible. Depending on the scale and budget of the production, this could involve full-scale replicas or carefully constructed partial sets paired with CGI.

Let me break some of these down.

GRANADA STUDIOS SET

The most famous House of Commons set was based at the former Granada Studios in Manchester. I visited it and sat on it in 1996.

The set was initially constructed for "First Among Equals" (1986) at the studios, and from 1989 to 1999, the public could explore it as part of the tour. The set's design details were remarkable. It measured 460 sq m (5,000 sq ft) when fully assembled but could fit into a 2,500 sq ft warehouse when taken apart. Built on a steel framework, the set was crafted from real wood to provide an authentic appearance. It had a seating capacity for 180 people, creating a genuine parliamentary atmosphere.

It was regularly featured in shows like The New Statesman (1987-1992). After Granada Studios closed in 1999, its whereabouts were uncertain until 2002, when scriptwriter Paul Abbott acquired the set for use in his BBC drama series State of Play.

Paul, a former scriptwriter at Granada, purchased the set himself to prevent its destruction. Once filming for the series concluded, Abbott stored the set in a barn in Oxfordshire.

It was then offered permanent residence at Wimbledon Studios in return for the studio having exclusive use of it.

On set: Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady

In 2011 Meryl Streep performed on the set in the movie 'The Iron Lady'.

You can see in the video above what a masterpiece it was.

SALE

In March 2013, after renovations at Wimbledon Studios, the set and other items were put up for sale on eBay by the studio, starting at 99p.

The bidding for this set and others reached £120,000. Unfortunately, the buyer did not provide the funds, so commercial auctioneers Cuttlestones were tasked with managing the sale.

This version of the set has now disappeared. Do you know where it now is?

THE DARKEST HOUR SET

For 'The Darkest Hour '(2017) Production Designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer rebuilt the house of commons set at Leavesden Studios. “They offered it to us (access to film in the real House of Commons), but there’s a real law that you can’t sit down on the green benches. So you can bring in extras, but they can’t sit down,” Greenwood explained. "

"The real House of Commons was rebuilt around 1950. In our period, it would have had the former look. We went in the archives of the House of Common, researched the earlier look and built it.”.

I wonder what happened to this set after filming?

STONEHOUSE SET - ITV

In 2022 Bardulf Creative were commissioned to build a new commons set for the ITV drama 'Stonehouse'. (Watch here)

Stonehouse (ITV) House Of Commons In the Movies - Behind The Scenes Geek Guide

"It was a relatively big design and construction job replicating about half of the total Commons Chamber, including fully upholstered and CNC carved benches (and associated gubbins) for the key Parliamentary scenes." Bardulf explain on their webpage.

Images from Bardulf

"The project spanned a couple of different Art Directors and was short on drawn detail, so we drew a lot of it up from photo reference and did an awful lot of CNC and upholstery work in order to bring it in."

The set was built inside The Great Hall at UCS Venues in north London. I have seen this venue used in at least two other shoots with a commons set. UCS Venues display the following image on their website. Anyone know what the production was?