We visit romantic comedy locations around the capital.
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00:00It's nearly Valentine's Day and some people will be sitting down to watch rom-coms, and
00:05when you think of romantic comedies set in London, Notting Hill has to be the first one
00:09that comes to mind. So where else to start than the film starring Hugh Grant and Julia
00:15Roberts. 142 Portobello Road was used as the travel bookshop, but these days it's just
00:21a store that attracts thousands of tourists and it's pretty hard to miss. William Thacker's
00:28flat with its famous blue door can be found in West London. The interior of the flat was
00:33actually filmed in the studio so is nothing like the film, but the home was apparently
00:38owned by Richard Curtis once upon a time. Today the flat is valued at ÂŁ5 million and
00:45the original blue door is long gone after being auctioned off for charity. However a
00:49blue replacement was put in place to keep tourists happy, although in true London fashion
00:56it has been graffitied on. Often in the Bridget Jones diary films the area around her flat
01:03looks quite quiet, however in real life the opposite is true. In actual fact the front
01:10door of her flat is the front door of a pub, the Glow pub in Borough Market, and although
01:15she frequently hails down taxis it might be a little bit more difficult to do that right
01:20here. At least she has got some brilliant food options on her doorstep though.
01:28Another iconic rom-com filmed in London was Sliding Doors starring Gwyneth Paltrow and
01:33commuters might have a Sliding Doors moment themselves when they realise it was filmed
01:38at Waterloo station. Although set at Embankment, the tube journey was in fact filmed on the
01:44underground at Waterloo.
01:50Now Run Fatboy Run is not the most iconic romantic comedy, although it is a great film,
01:56and seeing as though it's about a man running London, there are quite a few London locations
02:01in this one. The Gherkin building, a famous landmark in London, is actually where Simon
02:07Pegg's character works. And having completed his run, the finish line is right here at
02:13St Paul's Cathedral, another renowned London location and one that also features in this
02:20film.
02:24Now it's about time we talk about time. This classic stars Don Gleeson, Rachel McAdams
02:30and Bill Nighy. Having recently moved to London, Don Gleeson's character walks past the iconic
02:36Abbey Road Studios and then finally arrives at his new house. Meeting his new flatmate
02:42for the first time, played by Tom Hollander, the flat is technically not in St John's Wood
02:47as the film suggests, but actually in Queen's Park. The famous house is on Bronsonbury Road.
02:54So there you have it, ahead of Valentine's Day, London's romcom film locations.