spoiler alert
(EVEN THOUGH THE STORY IS OVER 130 YEARS OLD)
CREEPING AROUND A SPOOKY old manor is all in a day’s work for SFX – it’s either that or a quarry – but there’s something extra special when it’s Halloween and you’re on set for A Ghost Story For Christmas with Mark Gatiss.
It’s Thursday 5 October, to be precise for future TV historians, and we’re at Rothamsted Manor in Hertfordshire, a 900-acre estate that’s been around since the 12th century. It’s been the location for many film and TV productions – including Midsomer Murders and Grantchester, we’re informed – but today evil lurks in the dark for filming of Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1892 short story “Lot No 249”.
“As always, every year we have no money,” producer Isibeal Ballance laughs. “So every year, we start with, ‘Right, what’s the story? Where can we find the best location?’”. When this location came up, she and writer/director Gatiss jumped in a car right away.
“We came here and were like, ‘Oh my god, this is absolutely perfect.’ It just enables us to put as much of our money into the other things that we need to make it, without having to build sets and pay. There’s so much detail and the production value is just so high.”
It’s no exaggeration – it’s like a labyrinth of beautiful wooden rooms, with tall ceilings, uneven floors, vintage furniture and paintings everywhere. But. Still, if we need to step in with a sheet…
