The Great Fire TV Filming Locations and ITV Cast List
Where did they film The Great Fire television series?
Taking place during the Spring of 2014, the ITV drama was filmed at a number of places around England, including locations in Oxfordshire, Surrey, Kent and London itself.
Real-world filming locations included Greenwich’s magnificent Painted Hall (pictured above), Dorney Court in Buckinghamshire was used as the residence of Samuel Pepys, while the supposably haunted dungeons of the House of Detention at Clerkenwell is where they filmed the scenes set at Newgate Prison.
The Painted Hall, Greenwich
A significant financial investment was made in order to authentically recreate the cities look at the time of the great fire of London in 1666. To achieve this, the show was not only shot at these existing historical locations, but also on specially built replica sets of the city streets.
A Behind the Scenes, on Set Chat with the Shows Stars and Crew
Led by production designer Dominic Hyman, over a four month period, a replica of Pudding Lane (location of Thomas Farriner’s bakery where the inferno is believed to have started), the surrounding streets and even a section of the River Thames.
With executive producer Douglas Rae and his team committed to not using CGI to create the visual effects of the fire, pyrotechnics and real flames were instead used. With real smoke and flames positioned in front of the cameras, it was no doubt hot and sweaty work for The Great Fire’s cast and crew.
Amazingly, after all the hard work and cost that went into designing and building these sets, in a dramatic (intentional) conclusion to filming, they were completely burned down. All caught on camera of course.
Starting on ITV at 9:00pm on Thursday 16 October, 2014, The Great Fire stars Andrew Buchan as Thomas Farriner, Jack Huston as King Charles II, Rose Leslie as Sarah Farriner, Daniel Mays as Samuel Pepys and Charles Dance as Lord Denton.
As you’ve probably gathered by now, the series, which airs over four episodes, is set back in 1666 and portrays the events of The Great Fire of London. The show also focuses on the man blamed for starting the inferno, baker Thomas Farriner. The then King, Charles II also features heavily, as he confides in Pepys about his extravagant lifestyle.
The Great Fire ITV Cast List
Character – Actor/Actress
Thomas Farriner – Andrew Buchan (Broadchurch, The Honourable Woman, Garrow’s Law, The Nativity, Cranford, The Fixer, Party Animals, Nowhere Boy)
King Charles II – Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire, Parade’s End, Eastwick, American Hustle)
Sarah Farriner – Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Utopia)
Samuel Pepys – Daniel Mays (Mrs Biggs, Public Enemies, Outcasts, Ashes to Ashes)
Elizabeth Pepys – Perdita Weeks (Titanic TV Series, The Promise, Lost in Austen, Four Seasons)
Lord Denton – Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, Strike Back, Secret State, Bleak House)
Richard Smith – William Beck (Casualty, Vital Signs, Red Cap, Snatch.)
Ruth – Amy McAllister (Call the Midwife)
James, Duke of York – Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Mr Selfridge, Lark Rise to Candleford, Dracula, Will & Kate: Before Happily Ever After)
The Queen – Sonya Cassidy (The Paradise, Vera)
Lady Castlemain – Susannah Fielding (Pete Versus Life, Boomers, The Knot, Death In Paradise)
Frances Stewart – Antonia Clarke (Lightfields, A Mother’s Son)
Lord Hyde – Richard McCabe (Wallander, Peaky Blinders)
Ashley Cooper – Richard Dixon (Microsoap, Jeeves and Wooster)
Vincent – Andrew Tiernan (The Driver, Code of a Killer, Prisoners Wives, In a Land of Plenty)
15-year-old Hannah Farriner – Polly Dartford
8-year-old Mary Farriner – Trixiebell Harrowell
10-year-old David Farriner – Joey Price
Romero – Uriel Emil
Duke of Hanford – David Schofield (Da Vinci’s Demons, Land Girls, Injustice, The Shadow Line)
Wilson – Geoff Bell (Above Suspicion: Silent Scream, Top Boy)
Mrs Bagwell – Jennie Gruner
Mr Bagwell – Ben Crompton (Game of Thrones, Pramface, Ideal, Hit & Miss)
John Hobbs – Jon Foster (The Town)
Mayor Bludworth – Nicholas Blane (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Law & Order: UK, Trial & Retribution)
Alfredo – Will Kemp
Martinez – Roger Nevares
Servant/Assassin – Joe Wredden (Son of God, The Bible, The Musketeers)
Carter – Jamie Ballard
Gaoler – Glenn Doherty (Silent Witness)
Sallow-Faced Woman – Sarah Finigan (Marvellous, New Worlds)
Denton’s Man – Andy Gathergood (Five Daughters)
Ropemaker – Mike Burnside (The Bill, EastEnders)
Ropemaker’s Wife – Mary Healey (The Cafe, Heartbeat, Mulberry)
Sheridan – Tim Steed (A Young Doctor’s Notebook, The Bill)
Ringleader – Robert Whitelock (The Hour, Injustice, The Brief)
The Great Fire of London Facts and Figures
The blaze originally began during the early hours of the 2nd of September 1666, at Thomas Farriner’s bakery on Pudding Lane. After destroying large portions of the city, including St Paul’s Cathedral, the inferno was finally put out at Pye Corner on the 5th of September.
Despite only a small number of deaths (single figures) having been officially recorded, the actual amount was likely far greater. Due to the nature of the disaster, along with the questionable criteria used to attribute the fire as the cause of death, this quantity cannot be correct. Unfortunately, many also perished indirectly due to factors such as hunger and exposure over the following weeks and months.
In total, over 13,000 residences were estimated to have been destroyed during the fires 3 day rampage.
