Netflix to build ‘fake London’ set at Sunninghill Park in Ascot after row with The Crown over Bridgerton sets
THE makers of Bridgerton have worked out a fool-proof way to never have to fight over stately homes again – build your own.
Just a day after I told how bosses on the Netflix series were trying to book the exact same properties as rival show The Crown, causing potential headaches, I’m told producers have taken matters into their own hands.
Shondaland, the US production firm behind Bridgerton, has applied for planning per-mission to build a major new set near Ascot, Berks.
Documents filed to the local council show they want to construct a replica Mayfair road, including swanky residences Bridgerton House — home to heroine Daphne — and Featherington House, a shopping arcade, a tea house and a back alley.
Where they are asking to build them is certainly appropriate — it’s on land rented at Prince Andrew and Fergie’s former marital home, the Sunninghill Park Estate.
What’s more, they have asked for the two-hectare site to stand for as long as five years, suggesting talk of as many as seven more series of the saucy regal drama is on the money.
A source said: “There are only so many places you can film a show like The Crown, or Bridgerton.
"There’s a finite number of stately homes, and not all of them want production crews stomping over them for months on end.
“But the producers of Bridgerton have come up with a genius and long-term solution, to build their own giant semi-permanent set.
“The application documents say the set needs to last for around five years, so they can film annually for each series for up to eight weeks at a time. It shows Bridgerton is going nowhere fast.”
The building of the set comes as the streaming giant revealed that the show, starring Phoebe Dynevor and Regé-Jean Page as Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke of Hastings, has become its “biggest series ever”.
Netflix say 82million households around the world tuned in to its first 28 days online, surpassing the firm’s own projections.
It hit the No1 spot in 83 countries, including the US, UK, India, France and Brazil.
What Netflix doesn’t shout so loudly about is that a household only needs to watch two minutes of an episode for it to count.
I didn’t even last that long.
Taron on the blocks
TARON Egerton rocks the Eighties look as he films Tetris: The Movie for Apple TV+.
The Rocketman actor was seen shooting scenes in Glasgow, which doubles up as Russia where the computer game was created by Soviet government software engineer Alexey Pajitnov.
Taron plays Dutchman Henk Rogers, who went through a lengthy legal battle over the global rights to distribute Tetris on early video game consoles.
bizbit
SMASH hit mystery thriller Lupin will return to Netflix for a second series this summer.
The French drama stars Omar Sy as professional thief Assane Diop, who seeks revenge after his father killed himself because he was wrongly accused of stealing a valuable diamond necklace.
Lupin has hit No1 in the streaming giant’s ten most-watched offerings in more than ten countries.
Price is delight for Bill
BILL Bailey has replaced the thrill of dancing with Oti Mabuse by returning to his favourite hobby – collecting sticky price labels.
The Strictly star, who lifted the Glitterball trophy with dance pro Oti in December, has a collection dating back to pre-decimal currency days – before 1971 – and he is looking forward to adding to what he calls his treasure trove, which he concedes is “a bit mental”.
Bill said: “It’s a slightly odd one. I don’t know why but I collected sticky labels, just price tags off things.
“I still do, it’s a proper obsession. You buy a new phone or a computer and you get a sticky label – ‘Ooh, a sticky label!’ I get so excited.”
Bill says the price tag for £2.65 gets him particularly hot and bothered, as it’s “one of the rarest prices there is”.
Even so, it’s not his favourite in his huge collection, which he keeps in books – one tag per page.
Speaking on Rhod Gilbert’s Growing Pains, he added: “My favourite one is pre-decimal, 4d – four old pence.
“The idea of the collection is to get all the way through all the numbers.”
I think I’d rather do the rumba with Oti.
bizbit
KATIE Price says her son Harvey has been offered the chance to make train announcements by Network Rail.
The move comes after the disabled lad showed his love for the railways during this week’s BBC1 documentary looking at his first steps into life as an adult.
Disney's new Star line-up
DISNEY+ has unveiled the big shows for its new general entertainment channel, Star, which starts on February 23.
Topping the bill is crime thriller Big Sky, from David E Kelley, who created hit drama Big Little Lies on HBO.
Most read in News TV
Also in the line-up is teen drama series Love, Victor, written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger as a spin-off from their 2018 film Love, Simon.
Read More on The Sun
There’s also adult animated sitcom Solar Opposites, and Helstrom, based on the Marvel Comics characters Daimon and Satana Hellstrom.
The new shows follow previously announced well-established titles for Disney’s new channel, including 24, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Prison Break and How I Met Your Mother, making it a real force to be reckoned with in the world of streamed TV.
GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL [email protected]