In ITV’s new drama Trauma, key hospital scenes were filmed in fact at Regents Place a retail, residential and office campus in Camden, near Euston.
But the production had access to real schools: Highgate School in Haringey and Acland Burghley in Camden. Interestingly, Highgate School was able to act in both sides of story – as that of a wealthy surgeon’s daughter and the less prestigious school of an unemployed man’s son.
FilmFixer manages the film office service for many of the boroughs that hosted the filming. You’ll recognise some of the locations here in the trailer.
FimFixer director Andrew Pavord says, “This three-part drama centres on the heart breaking loss of a child, Alex (played by Albie Marber), and some of the remarkable locations used, work to highlight the emotional drama.
“John Simm plays the bereaved father, who is seen walking through Kingston’s Fairfield Recreation Ground, haunted by images of time spent there in the past, playing with his son.
“Adrian Lester plays opposite him as the well-to-do surgeon who operated on John Simm’s son. The surgeon is seen collecting his daughter from the entrance of Highgate School. As he starts to drive off, he checks the rear-view mirror, afraid he’s being stalked.
“Another Highgate entrance was used to depict the school of John Simm’s son. He’s on the phone to his dad amid the crowd of children leaving, at the end of the school day.
“About 100 cast and crew, including about 80 school children as extras, were on location at Highgate School to the film the two scenes in the course of one day in July last year.
“Over in Camden Acland Burghley secondary also played Alex’s school where, at the end of the day, he meets his friends and walks away, not aware that he’s being watched by a group of older boys. This shoot also involved 100 cast and crew.
“Adrian Lester’s home in the show is on Macaulay Road, near leafy Clapham Common in Lambeth.”
Adrian Lester has explained how he used the home locations as a key to the two main characters, saying, “You start with the differences in where the two characters live. For Jon you see the peaceful leafy streets with the large houses, the bright openness of the kitchen on to the big garden. Then you see Dan’s place, which is small, claustrophobic that helps you understand his worries about money. He and his family are struggling and can’t see a way out.”
Andrew Pavord continues, “For us, though, the real surprise of this shoot was the diversity of Regents Place, put to work for the hospital scenes. They were filmed over two separate days in June last year with just 30 cast and crew. You’ll see that the location worked extremely effectively.”
The series begins on February 12th.