“For all its faults, I’m so in love with London“: Olivia Cooke on filming The Girlfriend in the capital, and why London will always have her heart

“There are so many different sides to London,” Olivia continues. “I forget that certain parts of London exist, because I’ve been east for so long. It’s only when you drive to those neighbourhoods, and then there’s sometimes security on the road, and it’s very quiet because no one lives in the houses either – they’re all just people’s second, third, fourth homes. You are almost scared to touch anything. It’s manicured and beautiful.”

In episode one, Cherry takes Daniel (her boyfriend, Laura’s son) to look around a penthouse apartment, with incredible views over the city. “The penthouse was directly above Embankment station, just across the road from the Corinthia hotel. It’s an amazing location, and it has the most incredible views of the Thames. We got to be in there from sunrise to sunset, it was very beautiful,” Olivia says. “I love being able to film in locations within London that you would never ever go to before because then you feel like you get to do all the tourist bits that you never allow yourself to do anyway.”

Christopher Raphael

Then there’s the other side of the city – where there’s alleys steeped in history, buildings that hold secrets, rubbing shoulders with new restaurants, eateries, bars, markets brimming with cultures, cuisines, and people from all over the world and all walks of life.

“I love where I live in east London because it feels textured and it’s so diverse. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid from Manchester, but living here feels so different. To be able to have access to anything that I want to do, from the free galleries to the art and the culture is great – you can find your own adventure in anything you want, whenever you want it,” Olivia says. “And it’s got so many different types of topography and energies. Central London is so awe-inspiring, in terms of its architecture. I feel very lucky to be able to go there and walk down Regent Street at Christmas (even as basic as it is) and think, ‘Oh my God, it’s so pretty and so grand’, and then to be able to go to the Hackney marshes and just feel like you’re in a totally different place. It’s the most amazing city in the world.”