We live on Love Actually street – annoying tourists take snaps outside our homes but there’s an upside
LOCALS of a quiet street have revealed what it is like living near the site of one of Britain’s most famous cinema moments.
Residents of Poplar Street in Herne Hill, South London, were “gobsmacked” when stars like Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon showed up on their doorsteps just over 20 years ago.
Michael Riemu, 62, who has lived on Poplar Street for over 30 years, told The Sun Online: “It was sort of exciting to see it…it was all lit up.
“Seeing it all come together was quite interesting.
“I saw Hugh Grant and a bit of the acting.”
Homeowners were asked to put up decorations to get the right Christmassy atmosphere, even though the scene on the street was shot in the middle of summer.
Fellow resident Jane Baker, 55, recalled: “We had to put up Christmas decorations, it was quite nice.
“People who did were paid a couple of hundred pounds.
“Hugh Grant even sat on our wall just out the front.
“I love the film, I even got the soundtrack.”
She added that she sometimes sees groups of fans taking pictures of the house across the road, where Hugh Grant’s prime minister character famously knocked on the door to confess his love for co-star Martine.
Jane even had a photo of the street all set up for the film given to her by the producers as a thank you.
The woman living at the house where that scene took place told us: “My cousin spotted them finding the location, they said they were looking for a place to film and she said ‘use our house’.
“All the family was here…there were 10 of us upstairs as they filmed…A few got Hugh Grant’s autograph.
“We get people loitering around two or three times a year to take photos of the house.”
However, some residents took exception to the film’s characterisation of their street as the “dodgy end of Wandsworth”.
Michael said: “The street is not dodgy at all, it’s the best part of Herne Hill, it’s very quiet and peaceful.”
And Shen, 61, who lives in another house used in the filming, said it was “out of order” to refer to the area as “dodgy”.
She said: “This is a family road, lots of families live here.”
Meanwhile, Maude Estwick, 75, added: “When I first moved in [in 1984] there were lots of naughty children…now the young people are completely different, they are so grown up.
“It’s a nice area, the schools have been brought up…the crime is nothing like it was before.”
Indeed, Maude was instrumental in the street’s development, raising £500,000 while head of the residents’ association to restore a local park, which earned her a visit from the then-Prince of Wales, King Charles.