For years after the theatrical release of Notting Hill, tourists could be found wandering down Portobello Road looking for the blue door, behind which Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts’ characters had kissed. A fruitless search as it turns out as the door in question was removed and sold at auction shortly after the film came out. But it has not stopped the film enthusiasts pouring into west London in search of a little bit of movie magic.

It’s a scene that may soon be repeating itself in Fulham thanks to the abundance of residential shoots in the area recently. The reason for this influx of film makers and photographers lies in the diversity of the borough. Hammersmith and Fulham have a great range of potential locations, with cosy residential squares and contemporary urban homes sitting almost side by side. Down by the river another aspect of the city’s personality can be glimpsed, as well as beautiful churches in the area there’s Fulham Town Hall, which offers a degree of grandeur that might pass for a foreign embassy or a fancy period town house perhaps, with its marble exterior and original Victorian rooms.

A touch of Hollywood glamour is not new to Fulham. Scenes from the 1976 film The Omen were shot at All Saints Church on the north side of Putney Bridge, while Fever Pitch (1997) used Craven Cottage as a double for Highbury, and Stamford Bridge played host to Nuns on the Run (1990). More filming recent projects included The Bill, the charming period drama Princess Caraboo and literary biopic Miss Potter. Other productions to have visited include Anthony Minghella’s Breaking And Entering, Football Factory, I Capture The Castle, The Queen, Thunderpants and True Blue. Sometimes you may struggle to recognise local shots, so skilled is the work of the production designers who ‘dress’ a location to fit a particular period or mood. But the point of it is to add an innate sense of realism to a sequence, rather than simply reproducing everything on a soundstage at Pinewood or Shepperton.

According to London Location manager, David Heron, the popularity of a property lies in its character and its convenience. When it comes to locations, production companies are extremely particular about access and economics. They are happiest if they can film several scenes in one large location, using a variety of rooms and external shots. The features that are most likely to catch a location manager’s eye are island kitchens, knock-throughs, spacious hallways and gardens. In each case, space is the key. A kitchen with a cooker based on an island offers a greater variety of filming options than a hob facing the wall. The same principal applies to the knock-through, which allows the crew and camera to be located in one room while the actors can work in the other. Front doors are also important as David Rudland of location company Space Men explains, "we always advise our clients to take sample photos looking outward, through their front door, as well as shots of it from the street. This is because directors’ invariable want a shot of someone walking up to a door, then they cut to another person opening it from the inside."