Filming periodically takes place at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. The university tends to be chosen as a location for

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

recording because of its convenient position within London and the historical character of the

UCL Main Building The Main Building of University College London, facing onto Gower Street, Bloomsbury, includes the Octagon, Quad, Cloisters, Main Library, Flaxman Gallery and the Wilkins Building. The North Wing, South Wing, Chadwick Building and Pearson Build ...

and Front Quad. Film and TV appearances include:

Film

*''

Doctor in the House ''Doctor in the House'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the 1952 novel by Gordon, and follows a group of st ...

'' (1954) uses the Front Quad and Portico as the entrance to "St Swithin's Hospital". *'' The 39 Steps'' (1959) uses the Front Quad and Wilkins Building as the " St John's Wood Hospital". *'' Raising the Wind'' (1961) uses the Front Quad and Portico as the exterior of the "London Academy of Music and the Arts" ("LAMA"). *'' The Lost Language of the Cranes'' (1991) featured a fictional member of the staff at UCL and a few scenes were filmed in UCL. *''

Eyes Wide Shut ''Eyes Wide Shut'' is a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the 1926 novella '' Traumnovelle'' (''Dream Story'') by Arthur Schnitzler, transferring the story's sett ...

'' (1999) uses the UCL GP practice as the clinic for

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...

's character. *''

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

'' (2000) uses the Front Quad as one of its models for ancient

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. *'' The Mummy Returns'' (2001) uses parts of UCL (mainly the Front Quad) to masquerade as the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. *'' Thunderbirds'' (2004) uses the Front Quad and Wilkins Building as the "Bank of London", sited on the north side of

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

looking down

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

. In reality this site is occupied by the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

, also designed by William Wilkins. *'' Batman Begins'' (2005) features the DMS Watson library as "Gotham Print Room" and the exterior of the Medawar building as part of the police department headquarters; this film also uses the National Institute for Medical Research (as Arkham Asylum), and the cloisters of

Senate House Senate House may refer to: * The building housing a legislative senate ** List of legislative buildings **Senate House State Historic Site, in Kingston, New York, where the state's first Constitution was ratified in 1777. * The building (formerly) h ...

. The Thomas Lewis room in the Rockefeller Building was the setting for the courtroom scene. *'' Starter for 10'' (2006) uses the Front Quad, Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, parts of the Main Library and other areas of campus to masquerade as

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. *'' Atonement'' (2007) uses the Physics Yard for shots of the casualty clearing area. *'' Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'' (2007 Bollywood film): the stairs up to the portico are used for the title song. *'' The Dark Knight'' (2008): some scenes were filmed in and around UCL. *'' Inception'' (2010): scenes were shot in the Front Quad, the Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre and the Main Library. *''

Desi Boyz ''Desi Boyz'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by debutant Rohit Dhawan, son of director David Dhawan. The film stars Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone and Chitrangada Singh in lead roles while Sanjay Dutt ...

'' (2011): uses the Portico steps and Front Quad. *'' University of the Dead'' (2013): uses the Portico steps, Front Quad and other locations around campus including Jeremy Bentham's auto-icon. *'' Our Kind of Traitor'' (2016): The Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre is used as the setting for a lecture on poetry. *'' The Current War'' (2017): uses the Portico as the entrance to the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

TV (fiction)

*'' The Sooty Show'' was filmed around UCL in the episode "Hot Air Balloon". *'' Never the Twain'' uses the Front Quad as "Lord Smallbridge's House". *'' Minder'' uses the Front Quad in episode "Sorry Pal, Wrong Number" (Season 4, 1984) *'' Agatha Christie's Poirot'', 9th series, "5 Little Pigs" episode, filmed in the old Main Library entrance and the Front Quad. Also uses the nearby

Reading Room and Room 10. In addition, "Four and twenty blackbirds" was filmed in the Donaldson Reading Room of the Main Library, and the episode "Hickory Dickory Dock" features both the Cruciform Building and Front Quad. *'' Spooks'' (Series III, episode II) features the Front Quad and the Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre. *

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

's 2005 remake of ''The Quatermass Experiment'' uses the part of Gower Street which runs past various laboratories in the scene where Carroon breaks into a chemistry laboratory. The original 1953 version had been rehearsed at the

Student Movement House International Students House, London (colloquially shortened to ISH) is a set of lodgings for international and British students in London. It permanently occupies one large building in streets that faces Park Crescent which in turn across a squ ...

on the same street. *The opening of ''

The Complete Guide to Parenting ''The Complete Guide to Parenting'' is a British television comedy drama series broadcast on ITV in 2006. Created and written by Paul Smith, the series stars Peter Davison as George Huntley, Professor of Child Psychology at London University, bes ...

'' (2006) uses scenes shot in UCL's Front Quad. Some scenes from certain episodes were also filmed here. *'' Britz'', a serial made by Channel 4 (2007) uses many parts of UCL: the Main Library, and parts of the Cloisters are used for cadaver dissection rooms. *'' Burn Up'' (BBC 2008) - uses the Portico and Front Quad as the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

. *''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McC ...

'' uses the Front Quad (carefully avoiding the Observatories), the main gate, North and South Cloisters, as well as the Octagon. Other locations used in the area include the

ULU An ulu ( iu, ᐅᓗ, plural: ''uluit'', 'woman's knife') is an all-purpose knife traditionally used by Inuit, Iñupiat, Yupik, and Aleut women. It is utilized in applications as diverse as skinning and cleaning animals, cutting a child's hair, cu ...

and

buildings. *'' Law and Order: UK'' (ITV) - the 2011 series was filmed around the Main Building, featuring the Front Quad, Portico and cloisters among others. *''

Giri/Haji ( ja, 義理/恥, 'Duty/Shame') is a British crime drama television series which premiered on BBC Two in the United Kingdom on 17 October 2019, and was released internationally on Netflix on 10 January 2020. A co-production between the BBC an ...

'' - the 2019 series features numerous scenes filmed at UCL throughout, in and around the Bloomsbury campus, including the Front Quad, Campbell House and

Taviton Street Taviton Street is a street in the Bloomsbury district of central London, in the London Borough of Camden. It runs between Endsleigh Gardens in the north and Gordon Square and Endsleigh Place in the south. University College London's School of Sla ...

, and the Darwin Lecture Theatre.

TV (Non-fiction)

*'' Derren Brown: The Heist'', shown on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

in January 2006, featured brief exterior shots of the Front Quad and University Street. * James May filmed part of an episode of ''

James May's Big Ideas ''James May's Big Ideas'' is a three-part British television miniseries in which James May, a journalist and self-acknowledged geek travels the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction, or his ''big ideas' ...

'' around UCL and inside the

CAVE A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

in Malet Place Engineering Building in February 2008.

Advert recordings

* Kit Kat filmed an advert featuring pop group Girls Aloud for the Kit Kat Senses bar in the evening of Tuesday 18 into the early morning of Wednesday 19 March 2008. The presence of Girls Aloud attracted much attention from the

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a famil ...

, the

paparazzi Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...

and bloggers and the filming was discussed on UCL's student radio station,

Rare FM Rare FM is the student radio station of University College London. Background Rare FM was set up in 1998 as an affiliated society of UCL Union. Rare FM broadcasts continuously over the Internet with approximately 15 hours of live original prog ...

, by DJs presenting at the time.

DVD recordings

The

Bloomsbury Theatre The Bloomsbury Theatre is a theatre on Gordon Street, Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, owned by University College London. The Theatre has a seating capacity of 547 and offers a professional programme of innovative music, drama, come ...

has been used as the venue for

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

recordings of stand-up comedians' tours. *Former UCL student

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

recorded '' Ricky Gervais Live: Animals'' for DVD in the Bloomsbury Theatre in 2003. * Jimmy Carr recorded ''Jimmy Carr: Live'' in 2004, ''Jimmy Carr: Stand Up'' in 2005 and ''Jimmy Carr: Comedian'' in 2007 for DVD in the Bloomsbury Theatre. * Harry Hill's recorded ''Harry Hill in Hooves'' for DVD in the Bloomsbury Theatre in 2005. * Lee Mack recorded ''Lee Mack: Live'' for DVD in the Bloomsbury Theatre in 2006. *

Caroline Reid Pam Ann is the air hostess alter-ego of Australian comedian, writer, producer & DJ Caroline Reid. Performances focus on the nuances of air travel, identifying the individual quirks of some of the biggest international airlines and their media ...

played

Pam Ann Pam Ann is the air hostess alter-ego of Australian comedian, writer, producer & DJ Caroline Reid. Performances focus on the nuances of air travel, identifying the individual quirks of some of the biggest international airlines and their media ...

in a DVD recording of her show ''Come Fly With Me'' performed in the Bloomsbury Theatre in September 2007. Musicians The Zombies recorded ''The Zombies Live At The Bloomsbury Theatre, London'' for CD and

in the Bloomsbury Theatre in 2006.

Student media

UCL Union's societies, including the UCLU Film & TV Society and the UCLU Drama Society, often film in and around UCL.

References

{{University College London, university University College London UCL UCL Television shows shot in London