Block 1, Episode 3 - 1pm
After a busy day filming Episode 4, the following day we completed principal photography for Episode 3 (the shoot rescheduled from June 28th due to poor weather).
To be honest, the weather wasn't great. In fact, it was raining (but thankfully not torrential; it was that misty fine rain which somehow gets you more wet than actual rain does). Considering that it was all external location shooting, this was a bit of a worry. But, with a very game cast and crew (and several large umbrellas), we got what we needed.
The first set-up of the day was the exterior of the National Museum of Wales, a location that has been used in Doctor Who several times. We filmed some wides and establishing shots and then moved around the corner to another building in Cardiff's impressive civic centre to film the dialogue. Due to the rescheduling of the shoot, we unfortunately had to lose a cast member which was a real shame but we wish Liam all the best with his production of Twelfth Night. However, we found a very able replacement in Craig Harper who was great as security guard Jake and who formed a very sweet and very real relationship with Victoria.
The second set-up was in the Gorsedd Gardens, just in front of the Museum, to film the scene where Steph first meets Ross (Matthew Doman). Both Victoria and Matt are consummate professionals so the scene only took a handful of takes to get what we needed. We were then able to wrap Matt for the series.
The final set-up of the day took place in Cathays Park by the National War Monument. Originally this scene was due to take place in Cardiff Bay, by the Ianto Jones memorial shrine. However, when we originally planned to shoot the scenes, there was a triathlon taking place in the Bay so we had to come up with an alternative. Cathays Park has also been used in Doctor Who and is very close to the Museum, so it made sense. When we remounted the shoot, we decided to keep the alternative location (a good job as it was the Cardiff International Food Festival weekend so the Bay was unusable).
The other big advantage of the park is it's quiet (well, apart from the chimes of the City Hall clock every 15 minutes) and there weren't a lot of people around. The park is the setting for the final scene of the episode and, luckily, the weather held for us to get the final shots. We were then able to wrap both Craig and Victoria.
Victoria is the first of the four main cast to be wrapped for the entire series and it was quite emotional. She has been an absolute joy to work with, always professional, always up for a laugh and has truly made the character her own. We are so grateful to Victoria for her time, her patience and her enthusiasm.
