'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' Production Diary - The Last Ten Days
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In March 2025, we published an article providing some insights into the last few days of filming on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Since then, members of the production team have helped us to develop a comprehensive understanding of events that took place during this period. We are very grateful to Production Unit Manager, Marcia Wheeler and Production Assistant, Tony Virgo for sharing their recollections.
Tony Virgo has also kindly allowed us to make use of his original production file for this article. Tony was present on each day that filming took place during this period and his paperwork contains handwritten details about last minute changes that simply do not exist anywhere else.
Drawing on these new sources of information, we have been able to create a 'Production Diary' to tell the full story of how John Irvin and his team navigated the final days of a busy and complicated filming schedule. We also explore some filming locations that have not been featured in previous articles, notably:
- The restaurant where Smiley and Guillam discuss Karla.
- The attic room of the Witchcraft Safe House.
- The forest where additional shots of the Prideaux ambush were filmed.
- The layby where Guillam and Smiley stop on the way to Lacon's house.
- Dover Marine Station, the docks and the ferry.
- Sam Collins's office at the Casino.
So, make yourself a cup of tea or pour yourself a glass of something stronger, pull up a chair and join us as we go back almost half a century to the last days of the Callaghan government...
The production team now faced a race to the finish line - six of the seven episodes still had outstanding scenes to be filmed but many of the actors and professionals working on the series were due to be released in just seven days time.
Production Unit Manager, Marcia Wheeler had already recognised that for the unit to complete filming on schedule a lot of goodwill would be required:
I had talked to the Ealing Film Operations Manager before the final week, as I knew we were going to break rules and he would spot this. He asked if the film crew would complain. I said I thought not, as they wanted to get the shoot finished as much as the production team. "Well", he said, "if they don't say anything, neither will I”. It was better to let him know informally and get a sort of unofficial blessing!
As we pick up the story, in addition to the tight schedule, the production team faced three major challenges:
- They had been hoping to shoot the scenes of Guillam and Tarr on the ferry that week in Southampton. Hywel Bennett had been on standby to travel but, because of the re-shoots, filming had not been possible. The plan was now to shoot these scenes on Tuesday 13th March.
- The production team still had not found a suitable location for the ‘roadhouse’ scenes where Guillam and Smiley would discuss Karla. Filming was due to take place in just a few days on Monday 12th March.
- The scene in Sam Collins’s office at the Casino was not completed when filming originally took place in February. It was hoped to complete this scene, subject to John Standing’s availability, on Thursday 15th March, which would be the final day Guinness was contracted to work on the series.
Saturday 10th March
Whilst the unit had the day off, preparations were underway for filming the next day at two BBC premises, which were quite close together. The ‘Starlight Laundry’ sign was due to be set up at BBC Woodstock Grove, which was doubling as home to Toby Esterhase’s lamplighters. The scenes in Esterhase’s office would be filmed in the office of Graeme MacDonald, Head of Serials at BBC Threshold House. To light these scenes effectively, a scaffolding tower needed to be built on this day in the car park of Threshold House.
Production Unit Manager, Marcia Wheeler recalls the impact industrial action had on filming at these locations:
The reason the approach to the 'Laundry' wasn't filmed with the rest of the scene was because a transport strike meant the sign couldn't be shipped from Television Centre even as far as Woodstock Grove at the time. It is also why Graeme Mc Donald's office was exactly as he had it, since no furniture or other set dressing could be moved there.
Sunday 11th March
BBC Woodstock Grove
Episode 3 Scene 21 - Arrival (Smiley, Janitor)
BBC Threshold House Room 407
Episode 3 Scene 22 - Esterhase's Office (Smiley, Esterhase)
Episode 6 Scene 4 - Esterhase's Office (Esterhase, Westerby)
John Irvin's crew spent Sunday filming at the two locations that were set the previous day. They started at 9am, capturing Smiley's arrival at Woodstock Grove and entry into the building. As previously mentioned, they could not film the car driving towards the 'laundry' as the sign had not been delivered. That shot was postponed until the morning of Sunday 18th March, the very last day of filming.
After lunch, they headed over to Room 407 at Threshold House for 1pm to film the scenes between Smiley and Esterhase in episode three and then Esterhase and Westerby for episode six.
Being a Sunday, Threshold House was relatively quiet and filming was able to proceed with few interruptions. They were scheduled to wrap for the day at 6.30pm with instructions that the scaffolding in the car park must be cleared away by that time. You will find more details about these locations in a previous article about the filming here.
Production Assistant, Tony Virgo recalls:
Graeme MacDonald turned up while we were filming the scenes in his office - probably just to check we weren't ruining his green sofas or his curtains! The BBC was a bit like the Civil Service - only some senior people had curtains!
On the subject of curtains for senior staff, Production Unit Manager, Marcia Wheeler had this to say:
As Head of the Department, Graeme MacDonald had curtains that pulled across the window. When I was Manager of the Department, I had curtains at either side of the window but they didn't pull across - I got rid of them.
Monday 12th March
The Wee Waif, Charvil
Episode 4 Scene 14 - Interior restaurant (Smiley, Guillam, Waiter)
Episode 4 Scene 17 - Interior restaurant (Smiley, Guillam, Waiter)
Episode 4 Scene 18 - Exterior Car Park (Smiley Guillam)
Although the production team visited Shepherds House Restaurant in Moss End during their recce on the previous Friday, they obviously were not happy with it as a location for the 'Roadhouse’ scene. At some point over the weekend, they settled on The Wee Waif in Charvil as the filming location.
Interior scenes were filmed between 2.30pm and 7.30pm. After dinner, they moved outside to the car park to film between 8.30pm and 10pm.
Production Assistant, Tony Virgo explains how this location came to be chosen:
We were desperate to find somewhere and I knew about this place. I lived with my parents in Twyford which is nearby. It wasn't that great actually but it was perfect for us as you believe Smiley when he says not even Toby Esterhase's people would follow them there!
I don't think we actually closed the restaurant. If I remember rightly we went there during the day but they had to open in the evening. I think we had to finish filming with people coming into the restaurant and just asked them to be quiet as they waited for their tables.
This is the location of The Wee Waif in Charvil near Sonning...
The original pub has sadly been demolished and rebuilt since filming took place. I did manage to find a photo of the pub which is held by the Oxford Historical Society. Unfortunately, I don't have permission to publish the photo but this is a sketch of the image...
John Rundle did some careful checking on Ordinance Survey maps from the 1970s and he can place the streetview below as matching the general view shown in the sketch above. It is possible the telegraph pole in the shot below is the same one, or at least in the same position as the one shown in the sketch.
According to the paperwork, the first scene to be filmed was of Smiley testing the tape machine (below left). This is where we hear Guillam's amusing voice over. Finally, all the players assemble to hear the tape of Gerald telling Polyakov that Karla has 24 hours to get him out (below right).
I have always wondered if the scene where everyone is listening to the tape contained a continuity error. Is that daylight we can see through the attic window? It is still dark when Gerald is taken away in the next scene. John Rundle noticed an important detail in Tony Virgo's production notes that indicate I'm almost certainly mistaken and I defer to John's expertise on these matters:
I'm not sure that the scene in the attic with the tape recorders does contain a continuity error. A cherry picker was listed on the call sheet and this would suggest that a single large light was suspended above and away from the skylight, to match the lighting on the night exteriors at Noel Road. This would then provide lighting continuity for the interior scenes that were started in daylight and finished after sunset.
The property used for filming is indicated on the satellite photo below:
It was intended that the scenes featuring Guillam and Tarr in Southampton were to be filmed on this day. Marcia Wheeler confirms these plans were scrapped at the last minute as the location was no longer available, so arrangements were quickly made to film in Dover on Saturday 17th March.
Wednesday 14th March
Noel Road (Canal Side)
Episode 7 Scenes 10, 14, 18 and 20 - (Guillam)
Episode 7 Scene ? - (Prideaux)
Noel Road (Back door of residential property)
Danbury Street (Driveway)
Episode 7 Scene 26 - (Smiley, Guillam, Esterhase, Haydon, Fawn, Lacon plus Inquisitors)
This day was set aside for a night shoot to complete all the remaining scenes for the Lock Gardens safe house. Michael Jayston's canal side scenes were filmed first, after rehearsal at 5pm. After dinner at The Island Queen at 8pm, filming went on until 2am. The scenes of Haydon being taken away were filmed directly after dinner. The schedule indicates that the last shot of night was due to be Ian Bannen appearing from the tunnel. It seems odd that they would not have shot this earlier with Michael Jayston's scenes at the same location, but it is possible Bannen was not available for filming until later that night.
According to Tony Virgo's paperwork, the scenes of Haydon leaving the house were shot at the back door of the same house that Smiley signals to Guillam from with his torch. Although, there is nothing to confirm it, we remain confident that the shot of Haydon getting in to the van with the inquisitors was filmed just around the corner in Danbury Street. Full details of this can be found in our original article here but we have updated the satellite image below to indicate the house Haydon leaves from.
A night shoot did take place on this day though, at Black Park near Pinewood Studios. This was to film some cutaways which could be edited together with footage of the Prideaux ambush that had already been filmed in Scotland.
We do not know exactly where in Black Park these scenes were filmed but the crew were directed to take the first exit right off the A412, after the Crooked Billet roundabout and rendezvous in the car park. We can see the general area (below) and its proximity to Pinewood Studios.
Friday 16th March
Marlow By-Pass - Lay-by
Episode 1 Scene 33 - (Smiley, Guillam)
The scenes of Guillam and Smiley in the lay-by on their way to Lacon's house in episode one were shot on this day. This scene was originally due to have been filmed in February and it is not clear whether it slipped down the schedule or if a re-shoot was necessary. The filming location was the first lay-by from the M40 on the Marlow bypass.
Filming here was quite tricky as there needed to be room for a juggernaut to pull in to the lay-by and there was limited parking for the production team - because it was on a main road, the police were also on location. This is how the lay-by looks today as you pass it...
Tony Virgo recalls:
It was so cold that night! Poor Alec didn't like it at all - he was frozen and squeezed into this very uncomfortable car.
Saturday 17th March
British Rail Maritime Station, Dover
Episode 6 Scene ? - Tarr arriving at station (Tarr)
Dover East Dock
Episode 6 Scene ? - Tarr boarding cross channel ferry (Tarr, Guillam)
The penultimate day of filming represented literally the last chance to capture the Guillam/Tarr scenes. Marcia Wheeler recalls sending the production team to Dover 'on the hoof'. She lifted all the filming information and location contact details from another recently shot programme schedule. There was no time to do anything else. Originally, it was planned that Guillam should deliver his briefing at a buffet/diner en route to the port but this was scrapped and the decision was taken for this dialogue to take place on the ferry. Tony Pierce Roberts was not available on this day, so Remi Adefarasin shot all of these scenes.
Marcia explains why the ferry scenes got shunted around the filming schedule:
My guess is that these two actors had more flexible availability than most of the others, so the scene was easier to postpone/reschedule. Also, ferries run every day. Some of our locations had very limited availability which didn't always coincide with that of the actors. At some point we found out that Southampton wasn't keen for us to film, whereas Dover would co-operate.
The paperwork indicates that the original plan was to shoot on the boat first and then go to the railway station. Tony Virgo's hand written notes suggest they filmed the other way round. It looks like the scene at Dover Marine Station were shot between 11.30am -1.30pm.
Tarr arrives on the outer platform (platform 6) at the Marine Station...
He then walks over a crossing between platforms 5 and 4 (below left) which we can compare with a photo taken at the same location in 1984 (below right).
You can see the three platforms marked on an old plan of the station below...
Cast and crew had lunch between 1.30pm and 2.30pm before moving to the Eastern Docks to film the boarding of the boat and the dialogue scene between 3pm and 4.15pm. The ship was due to sail at 4.30pm and considering the material that needed to be filmed, these timings were very tight.
This is a view of the Eastern Docks in the late 60s…
The infrastructure matches what we see on screen. Tarr and Guillam walk down the road to the berth nearest the middle of the above photo. We can match their walk on to the ferry (below left) with another image, also taken in the late 60s, from a similar location (below right).
The boat they intended to film on was the 'nf Tiger' (the 'nf' in the name stands for Normandy Ferry), but because of the change in the order of filming, they actually sailed at 4.30pm on the 'nf Lion'.
These locations at Dover have changed enormously in the intervening years. You can find out more about the history of the Eastern Docks here and the Marine Station here. My apologies for the use of any inaccurate railway or nautical terms in my descriptions of these locations!
Sunday 18th March
BBC Woodstock Grove
Episode 3 Scene ? - Approach to Laundry (Smiley)
5 Kings Bench Walk, Inner Temple
Episode 5 Scene 21 - Office (Smiley, Collins)
138 Shaftesbury Avenue
Episode 7 Scenes 4, 6, 8, 13 and 15 - Mendel's Lookout (Mendel)
24 Cambridge Circus
Episode 7 Scene 5 - POV Rooftop
Episode 7 Scene 7 - Bland gets out of Mercedes (Bland)
Episode 7 Scene 16 - Haydon leaves in taxi (Haydon)
As the last day of filming dawned, the production team prepared for a long afternoon/night shoot.
A small team, consisting of Peter Grimwade, Remi Adefarasin, a couple of scene-crew and a van driver went to BBC Woodstock Grove at 3pm to capture Smiley's car arriving for his meeting with Esterhase. As mentioned earlier, this scene could not be shot on Sunday 11th March due to a transport strike preventing the 'Starlight Laundry' sign from being delivered from Television Centre. Guinness was not required for this shot and the car was driven by his stand-in, Guy Standeven.
The main production team started work at 5pm in an office at 5 Kings Bench Walk, Inner Temple to light the scenes set in Sam Collins's office.
These scenes had originally been started in February, along with exteriors and interiors at the Curzon House Club, which was a casino situated in Curzon Street in Mayfair. (Interestingly, right across the road from the Curzon House Club was Leconfield House - MI5's spy catcher base from 1945-1976.) Only the scenes in Sam's office were filmed at Kings Bench Walk. Filming of these scenes took place between 7pm and 10.30pm and Guinness was wrapped on Tinker Tailor at their conclusion.
Marcia Wheeler recalls:
John Standing's availability was very limited and I think we could only have the location on Sundays, which is why we didn't finish the scene in February. I wrote at one time 'Sods Laws for Location Managers' and one of them was that there are never enough Sundays, because there are a lot of places you can only use when no-one else is using them.
The building today is home to 5KBW Barristers. Unfortunately, we don't have any information about the office they used for filming. The window visible in Sam's office is a good match for any of those at the front of the building.
The unit still had a long night ahead of them. They moved to Cambridge Circus for 11pm to set up the final scenes of Mendel watching the arrivals and departures from the Circus. Filming took place between midnight and 4am. The only two principal actors on set were George Sewell and Terrance Rigby. The props required for these scenes were a telephone, chair and binoculars. Three extras were also required as passers-by.
Bland's arrival in his Mercedes (below left) was the penultimate shot and the final scene was of Gerald leaving in a taxi (below right). Wisely, they decided to use a double for Gerald so that there could be no possibility of viewers recognising him before the reveal.
As it was such a long day there were several food breaks. The unit had tea at 4pm and dinner at 6pm at Kings Bench Walk and then a second meal at 11pm at Cambridge Circus. There was a 'wrap snack' provided at 4am. You will find more information about the Cambridge Circus locations here.
Production Unit Manager, Marcia Wheeler recalls the last day of filming:
The Production Team and crew split up to cover the amount of work. Production Assistant Peter Grimwade and Remi Adefarasin filmed the approach to the laundry with the sign in place. Due to night shooting we had a few hours of Remi's time for this pick up. While this was taking place, Barbara Franc, the Focus Puller on the camera crew, shot the completion of the Collins/Smiley office scene on her own with the Clapper Loader working as Focus Puller if needed. John Irvin and most of the crew (including me) were present for the filming of these scenes. I think Tony Pierce Roberts just checked that the lighting set up matched what had been shot previously, before he and Tony Virgo went to Cambridge Circus along with most of the sparks to set up the massive lighting rig there.
For the final scenes of the taxi arriving and departing Cambridge Circus I was huddled in the luggage well beside the taxi driver! Owing to the one way system it took some time for the taxi to go round and return to its opening position and, due to repeated takes, I was there for some time.
Tony Virgo recalls:
I remember having to sort out cars that were in the way in Cambridge Circus. In the end we got the police to bump one of them - you couldn't do that now. I don't think John (Irvin) did storyboards but I actually storyboarded the scenes of Mendel watching from the turret window.
Maps, satellite photos and some streetview images - Apple and Google
Screen captures from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (c) BBC 1979
Storyboards courtesy of Tony Virgo
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