We all expect the big box office movies of the silver screen to have been filmed in fabulous places. However, you may be surprised to hear that a lot of our favourite movies were filmed in locations across Peterborough. You may have even been to these film sets of the past, or perhaps you felt there was something oddly familiar about the background of your favourite films?
GoldenEye
GoldenEye is a James Bond film where he sets out to stop a Russian crime syndicate from using the secret space-based weapon program known as ‘GoldenEye’. Parts of the filming for this movie were done in our very own Nene Valley Railway in Peterborough. The end of the tank chase was filmed around the exteriors of the British Sugar Factory in Peterborough.
Top Secret
Top Secret was a comedy and musical movie released in 1984. It was a parody of WWII spy movies in which an American rock and roll singer becomes involved in a Resistance plot to rescue a scientist imprisoned in East Germany. And where were parts of this movie filmed? In Peterborough at Nene Valley Railway of course!
Octopussy
Octopussy is another James Bond movie to be filmed across Peterborough. The movie tells the story of a fake Faberge egg and a fellow agent’s death. It leads to James Bond uncovering an international jewel smuggling operation, that was headed up by the mysterious Octopussy. The train scenes where the circus animals are stowed onto the train were filmed at Nene Valley Railway. Meanwhile, Orton Mere, Ferry Meadows and Wansford Railway Station were used for other train scenes, and Wansford was used as the Karl Marx Station in the movie. The death of agent 009 took place at the Weir in Orton Mere.
The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission
This movie, released in 1985, tells the story of American General Worden who, who during WW2, ordered Major Reisman to pick twelve soldiers from the military prison for the dangerous mission of killing a Nazi General. Parts of this movie were filmed at Nene Valley Railway.
Zombies in Tha Hood
This 2016 comedy movie is about the British government who release a zombie-infected virus into the rundown council estates of Britain to wipe out benefits cheats and local chavs. While it isn’t our favourite call to the movies, it was filmed across Peterborough in areas such as Queensgate, Orton, Railworld and Palmerstone Road in Peterborough.
Atonement
This movie, released in 2007, is about a thirteen-year-old child who is a fledgling writer. She changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sisters’ lover of a crime he did not commit. Filming of this movie took place in many local Peterborough locations. For example, the late 1930’s rural France footage was filmed in the Ouse and Nene Washes Nature Reserves. If the French countryside seemed familiar, that was because it was filmed in Eldernell Lane, just outside Coates. The beautiful coastal marshes in this movie were filmed at Gedney Drove End.
Queen: Breakthru
While it isn’t a movie, we had to share this exciting bit of filming with you. The promo video for Queen and their song Breakthru was filmed in Peterborough during 1989. Parts of this music video were filmed in Nene Valley Railway, Peterborough.
It seems Nene Valley Peterborough is an extremely popular place for movies filmed in local Peterborough locations. If you look carefully, you will see Russian Night…1941, Double-0 Stunts, GoldenEye: The Secret Files, 007 Days of Bond, Poirot and The Mystery of the Blue Train, and many other TV films and movies all used local Peterborough locations in their filming.
