Quiz: behind the scenes

Although my parents had lived in Denham Village, Buckinghamshire, within a few miles of Denham film studios, for over 60 years, their house was not used for filming until last year.  No doubt they were asked and they couldn’t face the upheaval.

Last summer Chris White, the location manager for the ITV series Quiz, asked if they could use Wrango, and I was keen to go ahead even though it was already on the market.  After almost a year I had more or less finished emptying Wrango (the arrival of the film crew spurred me on) and a film would be a nice legacy for our long and happy time there.

Quiz is about Charles and Diana Ingram who allegedly cheated in ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’.  They lived in Upavon in Wiltshire, too far from London for the film crew. Chris considered that Wrango was similar to their house.  (In fact, Wrango, which dates from 1710, is quite a bit older.)

Media outside Charles Ingram’s former home in Upavon 2001 (PA)

Wrango (Ed Kingsford)

Wrango becomes 27 The Grange

The film company wanted to use the sealed-up door in the centre of the original part of the house as the front door.  It had not been opened for at least 68 years and had a radiator behind it, but the company was not deterred.  It ran the gauntlet of Wrango’s archaic plumbing to disconnect the radiator and replace the door.  This should have opened straight into the drawing room but they erected a partition to make a passage.

Passage created by partition on the right (ITV screen shot)

The condition of the plumbing meant that, of Wrango’s six loos, only one was working, so they had to make arrangements with the church down the road.

The label on the one working loo

Our ‘big kitchen’ became the Ingrams’ sitting room, and the company brought all their own furniture except for our dresser which filled a wall.

The big kitchen before

The big kitchen ready for filming

Diana Ingram (Sian Clifford) in the sitting room (ITV screenshot)

There is one scene in which Charles Ingram (played by Matthew Macfadyen) phones his wife who is in the pub, so that she can listen to their daughter Polly playing the piano in the playroom (which was our playroom).  He is standing by the morning room door and there is no way in real life that her piano playing at the other end of the house would have been properly audible on the phone.

Charles by the morning room (ITV screen shot)

Polly in the playroom (ITV screen shot)

Our kitchen was their kitchen, but they replaced the 1960s decor and blue formica with fake tiles and wood.  They imported a new cooker but kept our old dishwasher.

The kitchen before

The kitchen in the film (ITV screen shot)

For some reason they painted the hall many colours, though it barely appears in the film.

The multi-coloured hall for the movie

The hall as we had it

The bedroom was Mum’s bedroom.  Tecwen Whittock (the person who was accused of coughing on the right answers in the quiz) takes a phone call from Diana in Dad’s dressing room (but it could be anywhere; I only know this because I saw it being filmed).

Tecwen in Dad’s dressing room (ITV screen shot)

There is a scene where Paddy Spooner, who leads the Syndicate (which helps quizzers to get the right answers) demonstrates his skill at finding answers to quiz clues in seven seconds.  This he does this in my sister Sue’s bedroom which was kitted out with charts, files and shelves filled with information.  I watched this being filmed, sitting next to the director Stephen Frears in Dad’s studio next door.

Sue’s bedroom being kitted out for the filming

Paddy being filmed in Sue’s bedroom, as seen from next door

Paddy in the movie (ITV screen shot)

Downstairs I watched the filming of the police’s dawn raid to arrest the Ingrams for cheating.

The dawn arrest (ITV screen shot)

‘Wiltshire police’ were hanging around at the gates, no doubt to the surprise of the villagers.

‘Wiltshire police’

Wrango’s fine exterior was used to good effect too.  Here are the paparazzi when the Ingrams return from court.

Paparazi outside Wrango (ITV screen shot)

In another scene, the family walk from the front door to the iron gate—they have to pick their way somewhat as there is no path there.

Heading out (ITV screen shot)

Across the front garden (ITV screen shot)

Out of the iron gate, not used by us (ITV screen shot)

There is one scene in the back garden, in the dark, of Charles burying the dog which has been attacked by thugs; the light is on in the morning room.

Burying the dog on the edge of the horseshoe lawn (ITV screen shot)

Horseshoe lawn, the x marks the dog’s grave

At the end there is a family photo outside the house, reminiscent of our family photos.

Family photo in 2007

Ingram family photo (ITV screen shot)

The location manager chose well.  Wrango was ideal as the Ingrams’ home.   The film is a great legacy of our family’s 68 years there.

You can watch all three episodes here (but with unavoidable adverts).