A romance drama that tugs on the heartstrings always has the potential to get people talking, not least when it’s based on the fine source material of One Day by David Nicholls. Dropping last week on Netflix, the show of the same name has taken off significantly, and if you look closely, you might just see some familiar settings scattered around throughout.
For those who haven’t read the book, or seen the 2011 movie adaptation starring Anne Hathaway, the story follows the lives of and Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew (played by Ambika Mod and Leo Woodhall in the Netflix show), a nearly-romantic relationship at the end of university turned topsy-turvy friendship and beyond, over 20 years of their lives.
Taking a snapshot of July 15 every year from 1988 over two decades, you’ll find Dex and Emma dotted around the world, from Edinburgh to Rome to Paris to, yes, London. Here are some of the spots around the city where the love story that’s endearing and heartbreaking in equal parts was filmed.
Clapton Overground Station
Moving to London soon after graduating and jumping right into a Hackney flatshare? Oh, Emma you relatable one, you. Tell you what we don’t relate to, though, and that’s her rent being 200 quid. ‘Twas the dawn of the nineties in this part of the show, after all.
Primrose Hill
We’ll continue the One Day filming locations in London with a bigun. Primrose Hill, aka the top spot in London for catching a view over the city skyline while wondering what it all means. And sipping on wine out of a paper cup.
The Old Suffolk Punch
Wait, what? This pub is actually waiting to be demolished and replaced by a new pub and hotel, but it was actually where the filming for scenes in the Mexican restaurant ‘Loco Caliente’, where Emma and Ian work and occasionally (four times an hour) are required to break out into dance.
King’s Cross Tube Station
Another relatable look into London life is ending up here all of the time. No different on any given ‘July 15’, as it turns out!
Fire Vauxhall
Taking on the form of a nightclub in Brixton, Fire sets the scene for boogie on the town in London that many of us will have experienced.
Quaglino’s, Mayfair
You can tell the pair have come a long way since the end of uni, dining out in Mayfair at the classy London institution that is Quaglino’s.
Maoz
Dex works in a kitchen a little later in the series, and the shots were filmed at Maoz on Soho’s Old Compton Street, which serves up a mean falafel bowl, in case you wondered.
The Spurstowe Arms
It’s giving Real Housewives Of Clapton energy here, despite the tearjerking circumstances we find ourselves in at the end of the show.
How do I watch ‘One Day’?
So you’ve seen the London sights on this page, but want to see the real thing? You can catch all 14 episodes of One Day on Netflix, with each being in the 20-40-minute range making for a pretty digestible (albeit gut-wrenching) series to digest.
Those who think they know the story after reading the book should also know that it’s worth checking out for the second to last episode. Why this in particular? David Nicholls himself actually wrote this episode, including some new elements that weren’t explored in his novel.