Hampstead has appeared in everything from Mary Poppins to Killing Eve. A guide to the films and TV shows shot in Hampstead and on the Heath, and where to find the locations.
Films and TV Shows Filmed in Hampstead
Hampstead turns up on screen more often than you would expect for a place that tries quite hard to stay quiet. The Georgian streets, the Heath, the pubs and the big skies have stood in for everything from Edwardian London to the present day. Some of it is famous. Some of it you will only notice on a rewatch once you know the streets. Here is a guide to the screen history, and where to go if you want to stand on the spot.
The big one: Mary Poppins and Admiral's House
The most famous Hampstead screen connection is not even a filming location. Admiral's House on Admiral's Walk, a striking white house with a roof built to look like a ship's deck, is widely believed to have inspired Admiral Boom's house in P.L. Travers's Mary Poppins, the man who fires a cannon from his roof. The 1964 Disney film was shot on a studio set in California, not in Hampstead, but the house that started it is right here and you can walk past it.
It is a good lesson in how these things work. The story comes from Hampstead even when the camera never did.
The Heath on screen
Hampstead Heath is a gift to location scouts. It gives you open countryside, woodland and a London skyline view, all twenty minutes from the centre. It has appeared in countless productions as generic parkland and as itself. The kite-flying scenes that people associate with Parliament Hill are real: the hill is one of the best kite spots in London and shows up in plenty of films and adverts whenever someone needs a wholesome outdoor moment.
The bathing ponds and the wider Heath have featured in dramas needing a wild-swimming or open-air scene. If a British film wants someone to swim in cold green water and have a think about their life, there is a decent chance it was shot here.
Notting Hill, sort of
People often mix up their leafy London villages. The 1999 film Notting Hill is set and largely shot in Notting Hill, not Hampstead, but the two areas get confused constantly because they share that white-stucco, well-off, slightly bohemian look. If you came to Hampstead expecting the blue door, you are in the wrong postcode. What Hampstead offers instead is the older, hillier, more village-like version of the same idea.
Television in the village
Hampstead and the surrounding streets have been used for a lot of British television. Period dramas like the area because the Georgian terraces need very little dressing to pass for the eighteenth or nineteenth century. Church Row in particular is a favourite, since it is one of the most complete Georgian streets in London and has almost no modern clutter.
More recent shows have used Hampstead and Highgate for their well-heeled present-day settings, the kind of programme where someone has a large kitchen and a complicated personal life. The spy thriller Killing Eve and various other London-set dramas have shot in and around the area when they needed somewhere that reads as comfortable and a little secretive.
The 2017 film Hampstead
There is also a film actually called Hampstead, released in 2017, with Diane Keaton and Brendan Gleeson. It is loosely based on the true story of Harry Hallowes, a man who lived in a self-built shack on the edge of the Heath for years and won the right to stay through squatter's rights. The film softens the story into a romance, and reviews were mixed, but the location work is genuine Hampstead and the Heath plays itself throughout.
A film-locations walk
If you want to see the spots, here is a loose route.
- Admiral's House, Admiral's Walk, for the Mary Poppins connection.
- Church Row, the Georgian street used in period dramas.
- Parliament Hill on the Heath, for the kite-flying view.
- The bathing ponds, for the wild-swimming scenes.
None of these are marked or roped off. They are just streets and parkland you can walk through, which is part of the appeal. You get to stand in the actual place rather than behind a barrier.
Frequently asked questions
Was Mary Poppins filmed in Hampstead?
No. The 1964 Disney film was shot on sets in California. The Hampstead link is Admiral's House on Admiral's Walk, the house with a ship-style roof that is thought to have inspired Admiral Boom's home in the original books.
What films were actually shot in Hampstead?
The 2017 film Hampstead, with Diane Keaton, was shot on location in the village and on the Heath. Beyond that, the Heath and the Georgian streets, especially Church Row, have been used in many period dramas and London-set TV productions over the years.
Can you visit the filming locations?
Yes. Most of Hampstead's screen locations are public streets and open parkland, including Admiral's Walk, Church Row, Parliament Hill and the Heath ponds. They are not gated or marked, so you can walk straight through them.
Is Hampstead the same as Notting Hill?
No, they are different areas of London with a similar look. The film Notting Hill was shot in Notting Hill, west London. Hampstead is to the north, older and hillier, with the Heath on its doorstep.
