ITV’s new drama Hollington Drive hit TV screens this week, and viewers were blown away by the beautiful estate which is at the heart of the show.
The show was filmed in Wales, with several iconic locations spotted by viewers already.
And, located a few miles outside Cardiff, the real-life ‘Hollington Drive’ is just as grand as the show suggests.
Featuring large houses and tranquil surroundings, the estate was built just a few years ago.
Read more: Hollington Drive location: Where is the ITV drama filmed?
Set to be a series filled with twists and turns, and starring Anna Maxwell Martin, Rachael Stirling and Rhashan Stone, the four-part drama follows two sisters whose lives are torn apart by tragedy when a child goes missing.
Speaking about the show's location, acclaimed writer Sophie Petzal said: “I always had a very clear picture in my head of what this street would look like. I wanted something that felt bright, without being too cartoony or silly.
“I wanted it to juxtapose with the dark underbelly of the story, with detached houses that looked really nice and idyllic but not recognisably from a specific part of Britain like Manchester or Bristol.
“I was looking for homes with their own unique character, that didn’t belong to a particular period or region. It was quite difficult to find that in Britain, but I got to be part of the conversation the whole way through, and I was so lucky the locations manager found a street that was exactly what I had imagined.
“It has white houses that look comfortable and aspirational. Overall, it feels compelling and inviting, even though the subject matter is dark and kind of twisted.”
The production team used the inside of several houses on the estate, with occupants offered to move out during the process.
Other residents stayed in their homes and were able to watch the filming take place.
Ann Shephard, 76, said: “The production team were brilliant. They looked after everyone on the street. If anyone needed to come through they would stop and get out of the way.
“It’s exciting to see your house on TV. And some of the shots were amazing, too.
“It was amazing to watch the filming happen. You don’t realise how many people are involved.”
Neighbour Fiona works as a GP. She said: “I was a bit nervous that some of the late-night filming would affect my sleep as I work as a GP. The NHS has obviously been so busy over the last year or so.
“So the team paid for me and my husband to stay at St Davids Spa for two nights.
“It was very busy on the road for a couple of weeks. The actual filming by our house was for two weeks or so, and there was a couple of weeks of preparation before that.
“The production team were really good and would stop what they were doing if we needed to come past.
“It was surprising how much goes into filming. There was a lot of equipment and lots of crew. We had 24/7 security here while filming took place which made us feel secure.
“We have seen our house on TV a couple of times already which is exciting.”
Production company West Road Pictures looked inside several houses on the estate before deciding which ones to use for filming
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One of these houses belongs to Linda and Phillip Saunders. Linda, 67, said: “Someone came on behalf of the filming company to look around and take photos so they could decide which houses they wanted to use.
“We moved out for 10 days with our dog and went to a caravan park, which suited us. We were just trying to keep out of the way!
“It was quite exciting! And now we are looking to catch a glimpse of our house on TV.”
Another resident, Mark Hillier, 59, said: “They filmed upstairs in my house. We didn’t have to move out and they left everything immaculate.
“There were a lot of vehicles but the experience was excellent.”
You can watch Hollington Drive on Wednesday at 9pm on ITV.
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