Black Doves: All The London Filming Locations

By Olivia Emily & Isabel Dempsey

3 days ago

The spy thriller is back for season 2

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Black Doves: All The London Filming Locations

Black Doves is back on our screens for another kickass season. As undercover agent Helen (Keira Knightley) and hitman Sam (Ben Whishaw) caper around London, collecting secrets, taking out enemies, and tallying up their body count, we see some pretty stunning sites amidst all the murder and mayhem. But where was Black Doves filmed? Here are all of the real life filming locations to visit.

Where Was Black Doves Season 2 Filmed?

Paris, France

Black Doves season 2 opens in Paris. Helen and her husband Wallace (Andrew Buchan) are enjoying a dinner at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée with Russian diplomat Chernov, before Helen runs off to break into his suite alongside Leila (Ambika Mod). Located on avenue Montaigne in the 8th arrondissement, the century-old hotel where the sequence was filmed boasts Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton among its former guests. Elsewhere in Paris, Helen attends a Peace Gala with Wallace; the exterior was shot at the Espace Potel & Chabit, on rue de Chaillot in the 16th, before reverting to Kimpton Fitzroy hotel in Russell Square, London, for the interior shots. Later, Helen meets her handler Reed (Sarah Lancashire) in the Brasserie A La Place Saint Georges, a classic Parisian restaurant on rue Saint-Georges in the 9th arrondissement.

Nazzano, Italy

As we dig deeper into Sam’s past, we discover that the hitman previously fled to a village north of Rome known as Nazzano, where he befriended local bar owner Matteo (Francesco Acquaroli). Shot on location, Matteo’s bar scenes were filmed at the Bar Punto di Riferimento in Nazzano, while the exterior shots for the village church were filmed at Chiesa di Santa Maria Consolatrice. We also see Sam strolling down the Dante Alighieri, while his home is located on via Felice Cavallotti.

Luton Hoo Hotel

The action hits its high-point in episode 5 during a shoot-out in an idyllic country manor. The high-octane scene was shot at Luton Hoo Hotel in Bedforshire – the former home of Anne Boleyn – alongside another private Luton estate. The hotel has previously starred in Eyes Wide Shut, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Wonder Woman, Sexy Beast and a couple of Bonds.

Wormsley Park Estate

In episode 4, we head on over to Wormsley Park Estate, a 16th-century National Trust property near High Wycombe. Though the Black Doves filming was largely constricted to the estate’s cottages, it can also be seen in Sense & Sensibility (2026) and Practical Magic 2.

Rosewood London

When not taking down targets, Sam can be found brooding around Rosewood London hotel in Holborn. One of the city’s most glamorous stays, it boasts Scarfe’s Bar, the Sense spa and Ivy-styled Holborn Dining Room among its amenities. Away from the glamour of Rosewood London, we first see Helen and Sam reunite at The Fryer’s Delight in Holborn, a chippy on Theobalds Road.

’10 Downing Street’

With Helen’s husband Wallace now Prime Minister, our favourite spy has nabbed a new home: 10 Downing Street. Obviously it would’ve been a major security breach to film the actual exterior shots there, so they were shot at Gray’s Inn in Holborn, while the interiors were filmed at Harefield Grove, a Grade II listed manor house in Uxbridge. The 19th-century stately home has previously appeared in The Crown and Agatha Christie‘s And Then There Were None (2015).

Dartmouth House

Following their meeting at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Helen and Wallace meet Russian oligarch Chernov again for an off-the-books dinner at the Chancellor Club. This scene was filmed at Dartmouth House, an 18th-century townhouse on Charles Street. Previously home to Lord Dartmouth, it later housed the English-Speaking Union and now doubles as an event space.

Somerset House

It’s during a clandestine rendezvous outside St Mary Le Strand that Helen and Laila are attacked by disguised assailants. They make a run for it through to the nearby Somerset House, as they’re forced to utilise some pretty unconventional weapons to fend off their attackers.

The National Theatre

In season 2, we see Helen meet the Black Doves’ enigmatic boss, Mr. Conteh (Babou Ceesay), outside the National Theatre on the Southbank. One of the UK’s most famous examples of Brutalist architecture, it was designed by Sir Denys Lasdun.

Reed’s Apartment

This season we return to Reed’s apartment. A glamorous penthouse with panoramic views of the river, it seems there’s quite a killing to be made from, well, killing. Sat on Albert Embankment, overlooking the Houses of Parliament, the home used to belong to disgraced politician and novelist Jeffrey Archer, as well as Formula One magnate Bernie Eccleston.

Laila’s Apartment

Hotheaded agent Laila calls Chinatown home in the series. Whilst the exterior was shot in actual Chinatown, the interiors were filmed on Brick Lane, in the Truman Brewery. This is also where the Black Doves Berlin HQ was filmed for the episode 4 flashback. Just round the corner is Corbet Place, the HQ of Patrick (Sam Riley), that we see in episode 2.

George Tavern, Stepney

Another stand-in for Berlin this series was George Tavern on Commercial Road, Stepney Green. Frequented in previous incarnations by Dickens, Pepys and Chaucer, in its current 19th-century form it has become a live music venue and a popular haunt for rockers.

St Paul’s Church, Newington

When he doesn’t have an Italian church to bring him comfort, Sam can be found at St Andrew’s Church of Hope – which was in fact filmed at St Paul’s Church Newington, on Lorrimore Square.

Trafalgar Square

It would be hard to miss this iconic London landmark from the season 2 finale. Shot on location, just outside the National Gallery, it is here that we see Helen and Sam bid farewell.

Battersea Park

If you want to get some serious spy work done, then you’ve got to find an unassuming bench. Helen and Reed have a favoured spot in Battersea Park where they meet to discuss Black Doves dealings. When Reed fails to show in episode, Helen knows something is amiss.

Jack Solomons Club, Soho

The favourite hangout spot of our favourite assassins is Jack Solomons Club in Soho. The jazz speakeasy first makes its appearance as a restaurant in episode 1, then as a jazz bar in episodes 2 and 5, where the gang wind down after a hard day’s murdering.

London Zoo

In the season finale we see Helen and Sam race over to the lion encolsure to London Zoo to rescue Helen’s kids from their nanny Marie.

Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster

The location of Wallace’s peace summit, this is where all the action kicks off in the season 2 finale. Violence erupts as agents, from rival terrorist organisation the Kestrels, ambush the event to take two hostages.

**Where Was Black Doves Season 1 Filmed?**

Black Doves was filmed across ‘over 100 locations around London, says location manager Pete Wimblett – where the series is also set. ‘A lot of them around Westminster and the Southbank.’ When it wasn’t practical to shoot on location – crowds are a perennial problem in the British capital – a studio near Slough filled in the gaps.

Keira Knightley & Andrew Buchan in Black Doves. (Ludovic Robert/Netflix)

The Webb Family Home

While Helen (Knightly) and Wallace’s (Andrew Buchan) family home is located in the affluent north London area Highgate, the real house used for filming is on the opposite side of the city: in Crystal Palace, south London. ‘It’s a beautiful house, but we tried to make sure that you get a sense of stability,’ shares production designer Laura Ellis Cricks. ‘It would be aspirational for most people, but also had to feel very lived in and messy, with kids’ stuff everywhere. I don’t know any clean children! We tried to show a beautiful, bespoke kitchen with crap stuck all over it. It needed to be believable.’

Southbank

In episode 1, Jason’s (Andrew Koji) murder takes place in an iconic spot: the Southbank, with nighttime sparkling lights bouncing atop the River Thames as he slumps on a bench with a shot to the chest. The bench Jason dies on is on a path called Queen’s Walk, and can be found beside Jubilee Gardens. In Black Doves, it is visited by a variety of characters investigating – or mourning – the civil servant’s death.

Just before his untimely demise, Jason was at a historic pub, The Coal Hole (91-92 Strand, London WC2R 0DW), on the Strand – one of the oldest parts of London, with the pub itself thought to have been a haunt favoured by Charles Dickens. Jason then walks to the Southbank, crossing one of London’s many famous bridges, the Golden Jubilee Bridge, while on the phone to Phillip (Thomas Coombes). Connecting the Southbank and Waterloo to Embankment and Charing Cross, this bridge is the perfect vantage point for some iconic London views.

A few more steps away, the Royal Horseguards Hotel (2 Whitehall Ct, London SW1A 2EJ) also features in Black Doves: this is where Sam (Whishaw) finds the bullet casing left behind by Jason’s assassin.

Andrew Koji as Jason in Black Doves. (Netflix)

Somerset House

Another key part of episode 1 is Helen and Wallace’s festive party, which is hosted in none other than Somerset House (Strand, London WC2R 1LA), a grand neo-classical 18th century palace, which today is a gallery and cultural hub and plays host to an annual festive ice rink. Rather than lace up to skate, the Webbs raise a festive toast, before they are greeted by Reed (Sarah Lancashire). Struck by the presence of her handler, Helen descends the building’s iconic spiral Nelson Staircase to speak with the spy in private.

Holland Park School

London’s supremely modern American embassy has gained some status after appearing in Netflix’s political drama, The Diplomat – but Black Doves sadly could not film here. It’s still a working building, after all. Both dramas use the real building, which is located in Nine Elms, for exterior establishing shots, but then Black Doves shot its internal scenes at Holland Park School (Airlie Gardens, Campden Hill Rd, London W8 7AF), an extremely modern state school located in affluent Kensington, right beside Holland Park.

The Royal Lancaster Hotel

When Sam and Reed meet so she can give him his assignment in episode 1, they’re at the bar in The Royal Lancaster Hotel (Lancaster Terrace, London W2 2TY) near Hyde Park. It is here, too, that Sam sips champagne at the bar (the hotel’s Park Lounge Bar), before retreating to his room to have sex with a man he meets there.

Ben Wishaw playing an assassin, holding a machine gun.

Ben Whishaw as Sam in Black Doves. (Netflix)

Spanish Steps, Rome

A curveball: Black Doves was also filmed in Rome. When Sam gets the fateful phone call about Jason’s death, he is in the Italian capital having a drink at a bar. The real bar is Antico Bar Pasticceria Mariani and afterwards he strolls to the eerily empty Spanish Steps – an iconic baroque staircase typically visited by droves of tourists whatever the hour.

Regent Sounds

And when Sam goes to a music shop to collect some weapons for his new assignment, he enters the real Regent Sounds (4 Denmark St, London WC2H 8LP), a legendary shop on Denmark Street. Whether the shop is a front for a weapons dealership in real life is a closely guarded secret…

Granada

This spectacular historic cinema appears in Black Doves episode 3, when Sam meets Reed. The setting is striking: an ornate, gothic interior is embellished with art deco furnishings, making it a treasured venue ever since it first opened in 1931. While it’s now a humble bingo hall (Buzz Bingo and The Slots Room, 50 Mitcham Rd, London SW17 9NA), The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and The Rolling Stones all performed here in its heyday.

Sarah Lancashire & Ben Whishaw in Black Doves. (Netflix)

Bars & Restaurants

And with unsuspecting meeting points a key part of life for the spies, plenty of restaurants, bars and pubs were used to film Black Doves. According to Atlas of Wonders, these include:

PRYZM Kingston (154 Clarence St, Kingston upon Thames KT1 1QP) stands in for the Pyramid Club, Hector’s base of operations.
The Westminster Arms (9 & 10 Storey’s Gate, London SW1P 3AT), a wood-panelled traditional pub located a stone’s throw from the Houses of Parliament and frequented by MPs, lobbyists and parliamentary workers alike.
Quality Fish Restaurant (11 King St, Richmond TW9 1ND), which is renamed ‘Poseidon’s’ for Black Doves; this is where Sam meets with triggermen manager Lenny Lines (Kathryn Hunter). Sadly, the real restaurant has since shut down.
Fei Er Cottage (37 Strutton Ground, London SW1P 2HY) is the Chinese restaurant we see.
The Kings Arms (25 Roupell St, London SE1 8TB) is another historic pub used as a meeting place.
The Palm Tree Pub in Mile End Park (127 Grove Rd., Bow, London E3 5BH) was used for the interiors of The Kings Arms.
The English Restaurant (London E1 6HQ) was transformed into Market Coffee House for Black Doves; this is where Helen meets up with Sam.
Jack Solomons Club (London W1D 7NB) appeared frequently throughou season 2.
The Fryer’s Delight (London, WC1X 8SL) is where Sam and Helen first reunite in season 2.

WATCH

Season 1 and season 2 of Black Doves are available to stream exclusively on Netflix. netflix.com

Black Doves: All The London Filming Locations