Discover the latest round-up from the world of TV and filmmaking in and around the borough in this latest instalment of Reel Life.

The sun always shines on TV, sang A-ha, the 80s synth-pop band. While that might be a metaphor for TV presenting an idealised version of life, we’re not sure it’s true for some of the shoots featured in this edition of Reel Life. It’s still A-ha’s second most popular song on Spotify though.

First off, with a slightly less than sunny take on things, we have Gangs of London season 3. It’s even pouring with rain on the main page for the series on the Sky website. And that’s the least of their worries, judging by some of the storylines.

You might have noticed their sprawling crew shooting a few scenes in the borough, including Warren Farm, Perryn Road in Acton and the Copley Close Estate in Hanwell.

Silent Witness returned for their latest and final series to be shot largely in London, with the production decamping to Birmingham for their next run. We pulled out a few of their favourite locations from over the years to give them a great send off. Fans of the show might notice scenes shot at some of our classic filming destinations like Horsenden Hill, Mattock Lane and Greenford Broadway. They’ll be welcome back any time.

Coming to a screen near you

Coming soon to lighten the mood, it’s Lena Dunham and hubby Luis Felber’s new romantic comedy on Netflix, Too Much, due for release in July this year.

The blurb says the main character, played by Meghan Salter, is a New York workaholic in her 30s who needs a new start, so she takes a job in London and meets a fella. An excellent storyline from our perspective in the film office, because it meant we could help them shoot in a nice big house their location team found in Ealing. Huge thanks to the Acton and Ealing Whistlers FC for being great sports and letting the crew use their handily placed car park for a few days.

Churchfield Road in Acton played host to a new short film Second Time Around. It’s about a waitress who, while closing up a café on a rainy night, is confronted by a mysterious woman. Intriguingly, we don’t know any more about the story than that, but the film is produced by some young, talented producers who have worked with Ben Wishaw. It’s supported by the LGBTQ mental health charity MindOut and was crowdfunded with the aim of eventually turning it into a full-length feature. If that comes true, maybe they’ll come back to Churchfield Road to film it…

Want a piece of the action?

If you are the owner of a property and you are interested in letting it out to film companies for use as a TV or film location, you could earn some money. We cannot guarantee all properties submitted will make it on to the WLFO website, but if you would like to give it a try, please send in some good quality images of each room in your property, and some exterior images, by email to wlfo@ealing.gov.uk