Movie Locations 3

Back On the Buses once more, the above photo, taken during my first visit to Borehamwood, and the studios in late June 2004, is of a row of shops on Shenley Road, which is the main high street in Borehamwood. The above location is very close to the Elstree Film & Television Studios. The above shops were seen during the opening title sequence of the film On the Buses when Stan Butler, played by Reg Varney, turns the bus right in to the road opposite. The shop on the left of The Bag Shop used to be called Jean, and I believe was a clothes shop. This shop could be spotted in several films made on this road in the 70s. If anyone knows when the shop changed hands from being called Jean, then, for my curiosity alone, I would love to know!

The only real changes to the above location are some of the shops have changed hands and the street furniture is now more modern, but despite this I instantly recognised the location when walking up the Shenley Road to the studios from the railway station for the very first time!

I believe the area, just before the phone box on the left, was used in the filming of On the Buses, in a scene where Olive (played by the lovely Anna Karen) is collected from hospital by her family (and by Stan and Jack's bus!) after having her baby. The area, which at the time had one of the smaller entrances to the studios' site, doubled as the entrance to a maternity hospital. This part of the studio site was re-developed by Brent Walker, and is currently the site where the Tescos superstore is situated.

The photo above was taken by late in June 2005, whilst on my second visit to the studios in Borehamwood. Again it is the same location as above only taken from more of a distance.

The photo was taken earlier in the day and shows just how busy the town of Borehamwood, remains to this day. This is partly due to the fact that happily the Elstree Film & Television Studios continues to help bring welcome business and income into the area for the locals. And not least, of course, for the traders who own or rent the shops on the route that lines the road leading to the studios!

The photoabove was taken on Clarendon Road, Borehamwood, just a stones throw away from the studios and, incidentally, just near the main entrance to BBC Elstree, where EastEnders and Holby City are filmed. In fact you can just make out a green area bridge in the gap between the houses towards the right hand side of the photo, this is part of the EatstEnders Albert Square set.

You can also just see that there is a left turning towards the middle of this photo. This road that leads of Clarendon Road is called Malden Road, and is the road which features Stan Butler's house in all of the On the Buses spin-off films. In this, the first spin-off film, the house (2 Malden Road) and the corner of Clarendon Road, can be seen at the end of the opening title sequence when Stan drops mum, Olive and Arthur off home, giving them a free rise on his bus! The house can also be spotted in a a scene where Stan and mum are helping to get a very pregnant Olive, who is on her way to hospital, into Arthur's old motorbike side-car!

The laundrette featured in this film is still situated on Manor Way, Borehamwood, just around the corner from the film studios and not far from the old MGM Studios. I intend to get photos of this location on a future visit to Borehamwood.

Finally, for the first On the Buses film, although I don't currently have a photo of this glamorous location at present, the motorway junction seen in On the Buses, was Junction 4 of the M1. And as you might have guessed, this junction is only a few miles from the studio.