Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Issue 62

Gavin and Stacey
Synonymous with the seaside
town of Barry, Gavin and Stacey
has gone on to become one
of the most popular sitcoms in
British TV history. A Radio Times
poll in 2019 placed the show as
the 17th-greatest British sitcom.
Cardiff itself was used for
several filming locations,
including the Capitol Shopping
Centre, Manor Parc Hotel, Cardiff
Gate Services, Cardiff Central
train station, Wales Millennium
Centre and Marks and Spencer at
Culverhouse Cross.
Alison Steadman, who played
Pam in the series, recalled that
the cast stayed at the Park Plaza
hotel for each of the three series
that were produced.
"It became a bit of a second
home to us," she said.
His Dark Materials
The BBC's adaptation of the trilogy
of novels by Philip Pullman was first
announced back in 2015, but it wasn't
until November 2019 that we got to
see the show.
Much of the show was filmed at
Wolf Studios at Cardiff Bay but areas
of Plasturton Gardens in Pontcanna
were also used, as well as a digitallyenhanced
Cardiff University.
In My Skin
This British comedy drama television series premiered on BBC Three
in October 2018. The series was initially ordered as a short film for BBC
Wales, but this later acted as the pilot episode after BBC ordered In My
Skin as a full series.
Producers were keen to use Welsh actors in the show to 'bring the
characters to life'. Locations around Cardiff were also used to give the
series authenticity. Gabalfa
featured in the production,
as well as scenes shot in
Rhiwbina's Parc-y-Pentre.
Cardiff High School and
Cardiff Royal Infirmary also
made appearances.
The coming-of-age show
was penned by Cardiff's
Kayleigh Llewellyn. In My
Skin was loosely based
around her upbringing in the
city.
War of the Worlds
The 2019 remake of War of the Worlds was broadcast to over 50 countries
worldwide. The star-studded line-up included Gabriel Byrne and Downton
Abbey star Elizabeth McGovern, and
featured a variety of Cardiff-based
locations.
Permission was given for the Siambr in
the Senedd to be used for two days of
filming in the first series, where actors
wearing military fatigues were spotted
during production. The show was given
the green light for a third series in
August 2021, with filming continuing
around South Wales.
Havoc
This upcoming British-
American action thriller film
was written and directed by
Welsh screenwriter Gareth
Evans and stars Tom Hardy
and Forest Whitaker. It's
due to be screened on
Netflix and Cardiff was used
predominately as a filming
location.
Greyfriars Place (pictured)
is one place to look out for
when the movie is released
later this year.
28 Weeks Later
Way back in 2002, director Danny
Boyle put out the horror film
28 Days Later, based around a
highly-contagious virus breaking
out in the UK.
A sequel was premièred in
2007, in which Robert Carlyle's
character Don tries to protect
himself his family from the
infected.
Scenes intended to be shot at
Wembley Stadium, which were
then undergoing final stages of
construction, were filmed instead
at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
The seats and pitch were altered
digitally in post-production to
give it a neglected look.
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