Naman Shrestha
Created by Catherine Tate, ‘Hard Cell’ is a British comedy series that follows Laura Willis, an event planner who tries her hand at being a women’s prison governor. Laura, along with a documentary crew, puts light on the thrills and spills of life in the women’s prison, HMP Woldsley, and tries to capture the justice system accurately and humorously.
Since the mockumentary-style series is mostly filmed in the interior setting of a fictional prison, it is natural for viewers to feel curious about the filming locations for the production of the Catherine Tate-starrer. If you are one such viewer, we have all the information that would appease your curiosity.
Hard Cell Filming Locations
‘Hard Cell’ is filmed in the United Kingdom, specifically in London, while it is set in a fictional female prison somewhere in Essex. Including the island of Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and a number of smaller islands within the British Isles, the United Kingdom is home to a wide range of landscapes. This versatility works in favor of all kinds of projects.
Over the years, the country has featured in various movies and TV shows, including ‘Belfast,’ ‘Bridgerton,’ and ‘The Dark Knight.’ The principal photography for the inaugural season of ‘Hard Cell’ seemingly took place between mid to late 2021. In case you are eager to learn about the specific locations that appear in the comedy series, we have got you covered!
London, England
For the purpose of filming, the production team of the documentary-type comedy series sets up camp in the city of London in southeastern England. As the show is set in the fictional women’s prison, the majority of the sequences are seemingly been shot in a studio in London or an old prison that is no longer in use. The production team of the Netflix series does a very good job portraying a fictional prison as it looks as good as real. However, this isn’t the only challenge that the production team faces during the filming of the series.
‘Hard Cell’ sees Catherine Tate, the creator and star of the show, playing the role of different characters herself. In order to pull it off, she spends quite a significant amount of time getting into costume, as she revealed in an interview in April 2022. She said that Laura is the only character who is entirely her. As for every other character she plays, they either have a prosthetic or a tiny bit to portray the changes. When it comes to Roz, it might not look that much but the fact is that there’s actually quite a bit of prosthetic on. Each morning on the set, Catherine used to contemplate her decision to have tattoos everywhere on her character.
Furthermore, Catherine added that even though the prosthetic for Marco and Anne-Marie was a bit too much, she liked it because it was good stuff. She said that it was all worth it with Big Viv and all her stuff. The makeup is done so well that viewers have trouble recognizing Catherine as she looks like a completely new character in each of her roles. Having said that, it is important to mention that it’s not just because of the makeup but also thanks to Catherine’s acting skills.
The capital city of the United Kingdom, London, is considered to be one of the world’s global cities with a strong influence on its arts, education, fashion, media, entertainment, tourism, and finance, to name a few. Over the years, the capital has served as a prominent filming location for several movies and TV shows, such as ‘The Batman,’ ‘ No Time To Die,’ and ‘Friends.’
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