SCOOP: When Regent’s Park Became A Nightclub

Regent’s Park went retro yesterday when it was transformed into a 1960s nightclub having been chosen as a location for an episode of TV detective series Endeavour.

Shaun Evans, who plays Morse, on the steps of the nightclub-cum-PPH

Endeavour, created as a prequel to the successful 90s series Inspector Morse, is currently filming its second series, for ITV.

Excitement levels were running high in the run-up to the arrival of the film crew as rumours abounded about the conversion of the PPH into an unlikely nightclub, imaginatively named ‘Moonlight’.

Moonlight – the new Lava Ignite?

Regent’s Park JCR President Harrison Denner summed up the PPH’s feelings, saying, “we are proud and delighted to play a part in the filming of Endeavour and everyone at Regent’s is very excited to see the finished product.”

Other sites where filming took place for Endeavour yesterday include Holywell Street and Exeter College, about which there was plenty of hype on Twitter.

Self-confessed bibliophile, general geek and cross-stitcher, Kat Steiner, tweeted: ‘I predict that the new series of #endeavour on #itv will have a police car with reg CEJ978. How? Filming in #oxford on Holywell St #love’.

Meanwhile, actor John Hollingworth, who will be appearing in this episode, was similarly enthused, tweeting: ‘Spending a great but freezing day in Oxford filming with the excellent Shaun Evans on Endeavour. Can’t feel my feet in these vintage shoes.’

Extras on set – a familiar sight for the Oxford student

Over thirteen years of broadcasting, with 33 two-hour episodes, Inspector Morse reached some 25 million viewers at peak times and remains popular even today.

Endeavour, made with the collaboration of Colin Dexter, author of the original Inspector Morse novels, is set in 1965, with Shaun Evans playing the young Morse, who has just dropped out of Oxford and is starting out in a police office.

Endeavour looks set to live up to Inspector Morse’s hype – it was watched by 6.5 million viewers when it was broadcast as a single two-hour feature film last year and received rave reviews.

Retro – a vintage police car awaits its 15 minutes of fame

Have you seen any filming taking place in Oxford recently? If so, let us know! Share your pictures with us at [email protected].