ITV's Code of Silence combines a captivating plot with ominous locations to engage the audience in a universe of cover-ups and psychological crises. From the six-part series being set against the backgrounds of ice rinks, police stations, and city-center pubs, everyone wants to know where Code of Silence was filmed.
While the series is based around the cathedral city of Canterbury, Code of Silence was filmed on location in sectors of London, Hertfordshire, and Buckinghamshire. The series uses these locations to project real British life under stress realistically and on a day-to-day basis, using actual venues and routes rather than studio-produced sets.
Hereafter is an in-depth analysis of the reported filming locations utilized for Code of Silence.
Watford police station: A centre for policing scenes in Code of Silence
One of the most distinctive locations employed in Code of Silence is the former working Watford Police Station in Hertfordshire. This is the operational headquarters of characters conducting the inquiry and features prominently throughout the series.
Although the series is set allegedly in Canterbury, Watford Police Station effectively fills the gap for the station in town, providing a real, functional setting for core dialogue and questioning scenes.
Hemel Hempstead and St Albans: The daily urban landscapes
A few exterior street scenes, pubs, and local locations viewed in Code of Silence were shot at St Albans and Hemel Hempstead, both in Hertfordshire. They were chosen because they provided typical British suburban vistas. Specifically, certain pub and bar scenes were shot on location in actual pubs, lending the series a raw, unpolished ambiance.
These villages give the kind of mundane-but-tense settings that contribute to the atmosphere of realism, which pervades Code of Silence. It could be a meeting in some dingy pub or an argument with a member of staff outside some corner shop: these are places that reflect the series' emphasis on day-to-day places where things are concealed.
Berkhamsted and Wrotham Park: Pseudonymous luxury with real foundations
The actors also shot scenes in Berkhamsted, where there is a celebrated steakhouse restaurant that is utilized for some of the dialogue in the show. A luxurious country house, Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire, was transformed into an imaginary high-class hotel on the show. These are contrasted with grittier, working-class surroundings, emphasizing the social contrasts depicted on the show.
Wrotham Park was used in numerous productions with high budgets, and here in Code of Silence, it is an upscale, stylish place for dramatic plot moments, subtle suggestions of comfort and sophistication to the action.
London locations: Nightclubs to riverbank meetings
Code of Silence also features some shots captured around London, both the city's lit-up lights and its shadow. Such as a climax nightclub scene captured at one75 bar in West Hampstead, others on the South Bank under the Oxo Tower. They are vibrant, and an urban environment that provides a frenetic contrast to the more subdued suburban environments and even the high-stakes lifestyle the characters partake in.
Using these London locations, the series has a fast-paced flow and visual interest, and grounds the action in readily identifiable British landscapes.
Planet Ice Milton Keynes
One of the highlights of the location shoot in Code of Silence is the Planet Ice ice rink at Milton Keynes, utilized on the show as the Denstroude Ice Centre. Not only is the venue visually unique, but it is also of utmost significance in the plot since the lead character, played by Rose Ayling-Ellis, is an undercover agent within the deaf community through ice-skating sessions.
The filming using an actual ice rink adds authenticity to the setting and provides a physical space for the emotional effect of the drama.
No filming in Leeds or West Yorkshire
It should be mentioned that the show was not shot in Leeds, Elland Road, or West Yorkshire, as much speculation among viewers has existed. All credible accounts of production and official sources, including the Radio Times, guarantee that the production hub for the show was the southeast of England, with no link with northern production hubs.
The setting may be in Kent, but filming continued strictly within Hertfordshire, London, and the surrounding areas.
Cinematic locations, fictional narrative
With real locations right across southern England, the show navigates the task of placing its drama in real and lived-in rooms. From abandoned Watford Police Station to hip establishments in West Hampstead and the vacant despair of Milton Keynes, the programme uses real geography to impose a fictional world.
This creates a feeling of truth without affectation, and each setting supports the drama without ever being intrusive.
Though the narrative of the show is filled with secrets, the locations in the background are recognizable. By utilizing obviously chosen real locations of London, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Milton Keynes, production creates a balance between story and realism.
For viewers wondering where the show was set, the location is the quiet suburbs, local pubs, and old buildings of southeast England, rather than the northern cities.