Bucks &amp; Oxon


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-thursday-murder-club-netflix-out-now"><em>The Thursday Murder Club</em>, Netflix, out now</h2>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Thursday Murder Club | Official Trailer | Netflix" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/50DYgzRBhFA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>Last week we *finally* got to break out the Vicky sponge for Richard Osman’s sleuthing septuagenarians big screen debut. The glossy adaptation of the million-copy bestselling book, <em><strong>The Thursday Murder Club</strong></em>, stars Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie as the crime-solving pensioners who take a break from knitting circles and mahjong to crack a murder. Peak cosy crime with plenty of clever twists, lashings of humour and a glittering parade of cameos. Among them, David Tennant, Naomi Ackie, Tom Ellis, Richard E Grant and Jonathan Pryce. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Tom-Ellis-Thursday-Murder-CLub.jpg" alt="Tom Ellis and Pierce Brosnan in The Thursday Murder Club for Netflix" class="wp-image-195052" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Tom-Ellis-Thursday-Murder-CLub.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Tom-Ellis-Thursday-Murder-CLub-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Tom-Ellis-Thursday-Murder-CLub-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tom Ellis and Pierce Brosnan outside Englefield</figcaption></figure>



<p>But Tom Ellis&#8217; Essex accent wasn’t the only scene-stealer – you might have recognised a couple of local haunts too. Eagle-eyed viewers will have spotted the <strong>Red Lion pub in Little Missenden</strong>, which doubled as the chic gastropub Le Pont Noir from the book. Used inside and out, the quintessential British boozer made the perfect backdrop for a scheming meet-up between David Tennant’s Ian Ventham and Henry Lloyd-Hughes’ Bogdan. </p>



<p>And just down the road, <strong>Beaconsfield</strong> got its close-up too, with outdoor driving scenes shot along <strong>Stratton Road</strong> – yep, that’s why the traffic was particularly hell-ish last summer.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/David-Tennant-Thursday-Murder-CLub.jpg" alt="David Tennent and Henry Lloyd-Hughes in The Thursday Murder Club filmed in the Red Lion Pub in Little Missenden" class="wp-image-195054" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/David-Tennant-Thursday-Murder-CLub.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/David-Tennant-Thursday-Murder-CLub-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/David-Tennant-Thursday-Murder-CLub-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">David Tennant and Henry Lloyd-Hughes in the Red Lion pub, Little Missenden</figcaption></figure>



<p>Elsewhere, the impossibly pretty village of <strong>Aldbury in Hertfordshire</strong> (just a stone’s throw from Bucks) stood in for Osman’s fictional seaside town of Fairhaven – all chocolate-box cottages, bunting, and a very convincing Memorial Hall-turned-police station.</p>



<p>And when it came to the show-stopping Coopers Chase retirement village, producers turned to the stunning <strong>Englefield Estate in Berkshire</strong>. You might recognise its grand facade from <em>The Crown, Bridget Jones’s Diary</em>, or <em>X-Men: First Class</em>, but this time it traded royalty and mutants for murder, mahjong and sherry. With its manicured gardens, sweeping lawns and stately proportions, it made the ideal backdrop for the pensioners’ sleuthing HQ.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-downton-abbey-the-grand-finale-in-cinemas-fri-12-sep"><em>Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale</em>, in cinemas Fri 12 Sep</h2>



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<p>Ring the dinner gong – <em><strong>Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale</strong></em> is serving up one last lavish helping of aristocratic drama this month. Set in the Thirties, this final chapter brings the Crawleys back for a fond farewell, with all the familiar faces in tow: Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Laura Carmichael, Elizabeth McGovern – plus, of course, the real star of the show, Downton herself, <a href="https://www.highclerecastle.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Highclere Castle</strong></a>.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/highclere.jpg" alt="Highclere Castle" class="wp-image-195070" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/highclere.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/highclere-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/highclere-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Highclere Castle</figcaption></figure>



<p>But Casa de Crawley isn&#8217;t the only local stately to get some screen time in the film. <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/claydon-house" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Claydon House</strong></a>, tucked away in the north Buckinghamshire countryside, makes its Downton debut, standing in as Petersfield House, which is host to the season’s most glittering social event in the film, the Petersfield Ball. </p>



<p>It’s here&nbsp;that Lady Mary makes her grand entrance (and into a scandal, naturally) gliding down the show-stopping&nbsp;‘singing staircase’, so-called because its ornate balustrade was designed to&nbsp;<em>rustle</em>&nbsp;like wheat as guests passed by. Fun fact, said staircase is normally too fragile for use, but it was specially opened for filming (with conservation experts holding their breath, no doubt!). </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Claydon-ball-scene-2-Rory-Mulvey-©-2025-FOCUS-FEATURES-LLC.jpg" alt="Theo Fraser Steele's Lord Broome, Michelle Dockery's Lady Mary in Downton Abbey: The Grande Finale filmed partly at Claydon House, Buckinghamshire" class="wp-image-195022" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Claydon-ball-scene-2-Rory-Mulvey-©-2025-FOCUS-FEATURES-LLC.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Claydon-ball-scene-2-Rory-Mulvey-©-2025-FOCUS-FEATURES-LLC-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Claydon-ball-scene-2-Rory-Mulvey-©-2025-FOCUS-FEATURES-LLC-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Claydon-ball-scene-2-Rory-Mulvey-©-2025-FOCUS-FEATURES-LLC-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Theo Fraser Steele and Michelle Dockery in Claydon, credit: Rory Mulvey</figcaption></figure>



<p>Claydon’s Saloon&nbsp;sets the scene for the Petersfield Ball, all chandeliers, whispers, and one very tense exchange that threatens to topple the Crawley reputation once and for all.</p>



<p>Meanwhile, another familiar filming favourite, <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/basildon-park"><strong>Basildon Park</strong></a>, returns as Grantham House, the Crawleys’ London residence. With its grand Georgian interiors and sweeping staircases, it&#8217;s no surprise the location continues to double for high society&#8217;s most refined address.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-down-cemetery-road-apple-tv-wed-29-oct"><em>Down Cemetery Road</em>, Apple TV+, Wed 29 Oct</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/DownCemeteryRoad_107_00993F-1.jpg" alt="Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson in Down Cemetery Road for Apple TV+" class="wp-image-195039" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/DownCemeteryRoad_107_00993F-1.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/DownCemeteryRoad_107_00993F-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/DownCemeteryRoad_107_00993F-1-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/DownCemeteryRoad_107_00993F-1-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson leading Mick Herron’s&nbsp;<strong><em>Down Cemetery Road</em>,</strong> (that’s the&nbsp;<em>Slow Horses</em>&nbsp;creator’s first novel, in case you didn’t know). <em>And</em> it’s set in Oxford? Yes please.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The first in Herron’s four-book Zoë Boehm series kicks off with a bang – literally. When a house explodes in a quiet Oxford suburb and a young girl vanishes without a trace, suburban neighbour Sarah Tucker (Wilson) becomes obsessed with finding her. She ropes in no-nonsense private investigator Zoë Boehm (Thompson), and what begins as a missing person case quickly spirals into something far murkier. As the layers peel back, it turns out some people long thought dead are very much alive&#8230;.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Untitled-design-3.jpg" alt="Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson in Down Cemetery Road for Apple TV+" class="wp-image-195087" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Untitled-design-3.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Untitled-design-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Untitled-design-3-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Untitled-design-3-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>There&#8217;s no trailer yet, but we&#8217;re led to believe that much of the action was actually filmed in <strong>Bristol</strong> (gasp!) which doubled for our dreaming spires. The <strong>University of Bristol’s Arts &amp; Social Sciences Library</strong> was transformed into a police station (complete with road closures and a full set build), while <strong>St Nicholas Market</strong> and <strong>Corn Street</strong> got a makeover too – including a local café turned into a newsagent. So while Oxford provides the story’s heart and soul, Bristol’s seems to be doing a lot of the legwork. That said we&#8217;re sure some iconic Oxford landmarks will make the cut. </p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</h2>



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<li><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/film-tv/everything-you-need-to-know-about-my-oxford-year-netflix-corey-mylchreest-sofia-carson/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">My Oxford Year: Netflix’s swoony new romcom is pure summer escapism</a></li>
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Downton Abbey and beyond: the famous film sets on your doorstep

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