Lingerie Shop from set of “Casual Vacancy” causes Unrest
Feb 05, 2015
News
Filming for BBC1’s new mini-series, Painswick became the destination for the fictional setting of Pragford in J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy. A prop lingerie shop was constructed for the filming of the mini-series was mistaken to be a real shop by the town’s citizens. While some old ladies tried to shop in the store, and other people came into see if there was a sale on, other town folk complained to the Painswick parish council, saying the shop was inappropriate and a disgrace to Painswick. The director of the mini-series, Jonny Campbell, found the confusion to be amusing. Indeed the irony was on point–while filming a story about a small town in an upheaval over a political problem in its Pragford parish council, the set inspired true uproar in the real life parish council of Painswick. The BBC reported:
The fake shop front for ‘Samantha’s Boudoir’, built in the centre of Painswick in August, raised eyebrows among the village and had passers-by trying to shop for risqué underwear. “There were a couple of occasions while we were filming where a couple of old ladies with white hair, a stick, were walking past and looking in the window and said ‘oh no, I’ve got all that stuff’,” said Mr Campbell. “And someone came in and thought there was a sale on, so there were several people walking around.” Although Mr Campbell admitted the confusion had been “amusing”, he added the boutique – run by character Samantha Mollison and played by Keeley Hawes – had not met everyone’s approval. “They complained about it at the local parish council meeting…said it was a disgrace,” he said Rob Lewis, from Painswick Parish Council, said a lady had called the council to complain the “scantily clad” mannequins on display were “not appropriate for Painswick”. “Once we explained that it was for a TV production, she seemed much happier,” he said. “But as well as ladies wishing to visit the shop for its ‘closing down sale’ – a number of ladies (and gents) have commented on what a shame the shop can’t still be open.”
The Casual Vacancy will be premiering on BBC 1 this month! Thank you for Gerard for emailing in this submission. We apologize for delays in posting article, there have been a few server issues here at Leaky, but thank you for your patience and sticking with us!