Lights, camera, action!

Over the past 50 years, Waddesdon has featured in films, television series and even a J-pop video! Since it first appeared on film in 1966, it has undergone many magical onscreen transformations from Haxby Park in Downton Abbey to a Parisian country club in Our Kind of Traitor. Take a look at some of our favourite reincarnations of Waddesdon below.

During filming, the rooms at Waddesdon are often completely transformed as the collection is put away and props are brought in. In Never Say Never Again, the Dining Room at Waddesdon was reimagined as the luxurious lair where James Bond (Sean Connery) goes head to head with villain Max Largo (Klaurs Maria Brandaeur) in the eternal battle computer game, Domination.

Watch Bond and Largo battle it out >

In Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, the façade of the Manor doubles as a chic Parisian hotel and Moriarty (Jared Harris) has a scene in the Dining Room. The Dining Room is a popular location at Waddesdon as filming is only allowed in places where large crews and equipment can be safely accommodated.

Recognise these stone steps? Waddesdon’s South Front masqueraded as the exterior of Buckingham Palace in The Queen. Here, the Queen (Helen Mirren), Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) and of course, the corgis are seen walking down the steps to the Parterre. The Manor also stood in for the Palace in the second series of The Crown on Netflix! Can you spot us in the season two trailer?

Buckingham Palace isn’t the only royal residence that Waddesdon has represented. In A Little Chaos the Manor transformed into Château de Fontainebleau, a French palace located just south of Paris. You’ll spot the Breakfast Room with it’s elegant 18th-century French panelling and the Dining Room too. Particularly apt, as the mirror frames on the walls are from a French nobleman’s house in Paris and the tapestries were designed by François Boucher, one of the most influential artists of the 18th-century.

Look closely and you might recognise the backdrop of this scene. In The Infiltrator, starring Brian Cranston, the exterior of Waddesdon featured as a Parisian building.

In a further transformation, the North Front features in the Bollywood classic Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), in which Waddesdon doubles for the Raichand family estate in Delhi, where Rahul Raichand (Shah Rukh Khan) arrives by helicopter.

You may have also spotted Waddesdon in Netflix’s Rebecca. The film features several shots of Maxim’s Bentley cruising up the long driveway to Manderley – which in reality were filmed at Waddesdon Manor. Some rooms within the French Renaissance-style château also made the perfect stand-in for parts of the Monte Carlo hotel at the start of the film.

The Breakfast Room, Dining Room, Conservatory and East Gallery were transformed for the filming, with all of the furniture, most of the textiles and several of the objects temporarily removed to accommodate the set design.

Watch the trailer > 

Most recently Waddesdon has played a starring role in the Amazon Prime Video adaptation of Cinderella, streaming from Friday 3 September 2021.

The twisted turrets, golden brick work and countryside setting meant no Fairy Godmother transformation was needed to turn our National Trust property into the famous palace. The Manor’s exteriors, interiors and wider grounds were all used in the production, and those who’ve visited will immediately recognise distinctive features such as the portico balcony.

Read more about Waddesdon in Cinderella >

Find out more about where to spot Waddesdon in Cinderella >

Discover more about filming at Waddesdon >

Find out more about visiting the House >