Slow Horses returns to our screens with Series 5, and more London settings than ever.

Tons of films and TV shows are filmed in London, but most are coy about location. Not Slow Horses. The Apple TV+ hit, based on the novels by Mick Herron, plays out across a very real city, often incorporating cafes, streets and businesses without disguising their names.

Season 5 launched in September 2025, and it seems to be 'more Londony' than ever. Here, then, is our guide to the key locations. We'll update this article with the arrival of each new episode.

Episode 1: Bad Dates

1. Slough House

The team's shabby HQ has remained the same since Series 1, and is easily identifiable on Aldersgate Street, near Barbican station. The office windows are above the Vecchio Parioli restaurant, which itself has featured in past series. Lamb's crew access the premises through a gated courtyard, just beyond that phone box.

2. The Abbotsfield Estate

The series opens with one of its most shocking sequences to date, when a disaffected man goes on a shooting spree around a housing estate. The setting is the Abbotsfield Estate. This is fictional, for obvious reasons, and it was filmed outside London in Harlow's Bush Fair estate. Still, the action is clearly intended to be in London, with the towers of Canary Wharf and Wood Wharf rising in the background.

A bit of fiddling around in Google Earth, and we can see that the location is supposed to be somewhere around Cubitt Town to the east of the Isle of Dogs.

3. Roddy prances to work

Following the opening credits, unlikeable tech git Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) dances his merry way to the office through another housing estate. The gold panels and brutalist architecture readily identify this as the Golden Lane Estate, adjacent to the Barbican. This is a prime example of how Slow Horses (Abbotsfield aside) plugs into real locations. Golden Lane is indeed just around the corner from Roddy's office (Slough House), and we know he lives over near Perricoat Lane (see end of article), so he would indeed be coming from this direction. The near-collision with a van takes place on Fann Street — both visually, and as later confirmed in dialogue.

4. Lamb's fry-up

Meanwhile, Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) is taking a characteristically laid-back approach to office hours, enjoying a slap-up breakfast in Beppe's Cafe. This is a real and well-known greasy spoon close to Smithfield Market, and therefore a realistic place, five minutes from the office, for the boss to line his stomach. The cafe is presented with minimal set dressing, with the correct name and door number.

5. Preparing for the Mayoral Debate

Nick Mohammed (of Ted Lasso/Mr Swallow fame) plays a left-leaning incumbent Mayor of London Zafar Jaffrey, who's up against a convincingly slimy right-wing candidate called Dennis Gimball (Christopher Villiers). It's not hard to draw parallels with real politicians. Anyway, we first meet the rivals in the company of the very real Krishnan Guru-Murthy inside a conference venue, as they prepare for a Mayoral debate. The scene is again set in a real location, the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster.

6. Roddy's hot date

Shirley and Standish follow Roddy after work and watch him continue his prancing outside a branch of Pret. Against all expectations, he's met by an attractive date ("I'm calling it: escort," quips Shirley). The unexpected rendezvous is doubly mysterious in that it takes place outside the Ladbroke Grove branch of Pret, several miles away from Slough House. Still, got to admire Roddy's style, arranging to meet the girl of his dreams beside some bins outside a chain sandwich shop.

7. Louisa and River's awkward conversation

River and Louisa, both suffering mental traumas after the events of Series 4, decide to leave the office for a drink/chat. They, too, go for an unlikely and distant venue: beside the Covid memorial opposite the Houses of Parliament.

8. Roddy's hot date, part 2

The Ladbroke Grove Pret starts to make sense when you see where Roddy's taking his date/escort: it's a nightclub called Darkside under the Westway. The outdoor scenes were shot beside the entrance to the old Subterania nightclub on Acklam Road. In the context of the show's geography, they're supposedly still in the environs of Slough House, so this might be a surrogate for Fabric in Smithfield.

9. Roddy's flat

The first episode ends in Petticoat Lane (Middlesex Street), with Roddy saying a reluctant farewell to his date Tara. The aerial shots clearly show this famous market street and surroundings. After Roddy gets out, Tara's taxi drives away down Wentworth Street.

Episode 2: Incommunicado

1. The shoot-out

The second episode opens where the last one ended — Roddy's flat on Petticoat Lane. The camera swings around the back, offering gorgeous nighttime views of the City skyline. We can't envy Roddy for his living arrangements, however, because his flat soon receives the attentions of an assassin and his accomplice with an automatic weapon. The shooter takes aim from the corner of Middlesex Street and Wentworth Street, outside Majestic London.

2. The chase

Shirley's pursuit of the injured assassin is a protracted affair, which takes her on something of a nocturnal tour of London. After leaving the Petticoat Lane area, the agent grapples with her quarry in a skate park. This appears to be underneath the Westway (several miles from Petticoat Lnae), and was presumably filmed around the same time as the nightclub scenes from Episode 1, in the same area. They may have used the BaySixty6 skate park, not far from Ladbroke Grove.

The would-be assassin manages to escape from Shirley. We next see the stricken foe hobbling down a set of steps to reach a rendezvous point with his gang. This brief scene was shot on Pedley Street near Spitalfields (and realistically close to Petticoat Lane). As an isolated, graffiti-covered street with plenty of space for unit parking, it's a common filming location.

3. The swanky skybar

Most of the team now assemble in a glitzy rooftop restaurant. Given their various states of dishevelment, it's surprising they get past the door staff. Anyhow, there's some significant jiggery-pokery going on with locations here. The shots at ground level seem to be outside 22 Bishopsgate, the tallest skyscraper in the City. When Shirley looks up, though, the tower has been digitally altered to look more like the Broadgate Tower. Further confusion comes from the elevator scene, which goes up to floor 52. This would be possible in 22 Bishopsgate, but there is no restaurant at that level.

Try though we might, we can't identify the bar itself. The background seems to be inspired by the original The Ivy, but it's not a close match. Our leading theory (backed up by someone on FB) is that this is a set constructed especially for the extended scenes here. This would make sense, as the bar got lots of screentime, making it cost-efficient to build a set rather than take over a restaurant for several days.

That being the case, we wonder if this bar will pop up in future episodes. The production team were very careful to disguise the building (the outside shots are a mashup of two skyscrapers), so wepredict something nasty might happen here in a future episode...

4. Tara's address

River and Coe head out to "34 Priory Close", the given address of Roddy's 'girlfriend' Tara. We originally assumed this was Hillfield Park in Muswell Hill — the go-to street for any 'up on a hill with the city in the distance' shoot. In fact, it's Woodland Road, in Crystal Palace. The local Facebook group is all a-buzz, apparently. Thanks to reader Dee for the information.

The scene is revisited in daylight in Episode 4.

5. Claude's jog

Also scaling the heights is MI5 bigwig Claude Whelan. We see him out for a morning jog, tackling the slopes of a large hill near central London. This is, of course, Primrose Hill... a short way from MI5's fictional Regent's Park base.

6. Exploding engines

The episode ends as a car, billowing smoke, makes its way through central London and then explodes. These scenes were filmed on Endsleigh Place, between Gordon Square and Tavistock Square in Bloomsbury. It's an odd location choice. A double-decker passes through the smoke, on which we see eco-activist Irfan look down on the carnage he has caused. The scene is uncomfortably near the site of the 2005 bus bombing in Tavistock Square.

Episode 3: Tall Tales

A location-light linker episode, heavy on dialogue and reveal, less so on action.

1. The Park

Taverner's MI5 base appears in most episodes. Today, we see a little more of it, as the spooks catch up on developments and interrogate the compromised Roddy, before witnessing a nearby bomb blast. It's long been clear that 'the Park' is supposed to be on the edge of Regent's Park. Aerial shots allow us to pinpoint the location. The fictional building stands where, in real life, you'd find the Regent's Park running track, to the north of the park. A spin-off of Slow Horses, detailing the years of NIMBY protest that would have resisted such a building on the edge of Regent's Park, would make for fascinating viewing.

2. The Zoo explosion

A key development in this episode is the explosion at London Zoo — here referred to as 'the Regent's Park Zoo'. The outrage occurs in the penguin enclosure, no less, in a move apparently designed to stoke up media frenzy. For obvious reasons, the scenes are not shot at the actual tourist attraction. In fact, we hardly see the Zoo setting at all, and what shots we do have are artifice. The initial fireball is seen only in reflected glass, and appears to be coming out of the Regent's Park 'Hub' rather than the Zoo itself. Meanwhile, the digital effects guys appear to have inserted the Kew pagoda into the background (arrowed, above).

The pagoda also features in ground shots of the Zoo, suggesting these scenes were filmed at Kew.

3. City Hall

Well, here's an easy one. The striking angular building representing City Hall is... City Hall. The Mayor of London's office relocated to this venue in the Royal Docks just after Covid, and the same is apparently true in the Slow Horses universe. The interiors appear genuine as well.

The scene is revisited in Episode 4.

4. The team escape

Having slipped MI5's lockdown posse through a combination of blagging ('tall tales'), main force and flatulence, the team regroup not far from their office to plan their next steps. They're mustering point is actually a six or seven minute hike from Slough House, on the other side of the Barbican. The filming location is the corner of Ropemaker Street and Finsbury Street.

Episode 4: Missiles

1. The Gimball residence

Whelan pays a visit to the Gimball house, located down an attractive cobbled mews. The distinctive slope and stepped balconies betray this as Holland Park Mews, very close to the eponymous park. The repellent couple live at the eastern end of the mews.

2. The Gimball Ralley

The ill-fated politician holds a rally at Conway Hall in Holborn, easily identified by the big sign saying "Conway Hall". The venue is well noted for its political events (of both left- and right-wing groups). A gathering of the National Front here in 1974 led to a riot in which many were injured and one anti-fascist protestor was killed. The episode films both inside and outside the venue.

3. Tara is brought in

Flyte and her team (plus Lamb) race across town to arrest Tara, who is hiding out in Roddy's flat. As previously established this is on Middlesex Street (Petticoat Lane), which we see in more detail in this episode.

4. The chase

Having foiled an assassination attempt on the Mayor, Shirley legs it out of City Hall in hot pursuit (again!). The subsequent chase was filmed amid the flyovers and tunnels of Victoria Dock Road, which is indeed right next to City Hall.

The episode ends with the bizarre accidental killing of Gimball, slain by a can of falling pink paint. This is supposedly just outside Conway Hall, though we think it was filmed somewhere else (unidentified).

Episode 5: Circus

An entirely nocturnal episode, whose name has a double meaning... referencing a bunch of clowns, and the climactic scenes at Piccadilly Circus.

1. Lonely car park

Having failed in their attempt to assassinate the Mayor, Farouk and his gang reconvene in a massive car park — which unaccountably has a giant news screen from which they learn that Gimball has died. The location is the main rooftop car park of Westfield Stratford, a singularly dumb place to rendezvous as it is no doubt heavily surveilled by CCTV. The location is easily identified by the background presence of the Manhattan Loft Gardens building, with its distinctive 'missing wedge'.

2. River changes clothes

Having fled the scene of Gimball's demise, River and Coe drive far away to get fresh clothes (River) and enjoy some cherries (Coe). River removes his pink-stained garments beside a distinctive brick building. Its zig-zag motifs and circular windows betray it as the electricity substation in south Shoreditch — specifically on Pindar Street.

3. Piss underpass

Lamb calls the Horses to a rendezvous at 'Piss Underpass'. We're not 100% sure, but this looks like one of the tunnels that lead to the IMAX cinema in Waterloo, dolled up to look like the London Zoo tunnel.

4. Molly's flat

Lamb pays a visit to freshly redundoed archivist, Molly. Her flat is easily tracked down, as we see she lives opposite the Ozan unisex salon. This is on the corner of Whitmore Road (street sign just about legible) and Osman Road, near Shoreditch Park.

5. Moonlight stroll

Whelan uses his 'First Desk' privileges to gain access to a royal park at night, to continue his probing of Tara. Why? Couldn't they just use an interview room? Anyway, this appears to be the Inner Circle of Regent's Park, which would indeed be closed off at night. Glowing buildings, presumably 'The Park', have been digitally inserted in the background.

6. Piccadilly Circus

Tara gives MI5 the slip by dumping her tracker-lined coat with a busker (a bloody amazing busker, actually, singing an appropriate song). The extended scene was indeed filmed in and around Piccadilly Circus. Eventually, Tara reunites with Farouk and friends next to the famous Devonshire pub behind the Circus.

Episode 6: Scars

The finale begins in a series of familiar locations, before moving onto its first set-piece.

1. The Libyan Embassy

Lamb and Standish sneak over to the Libyan Embassy in an attempt to apprehend Tara, who's taken the ambassador hostage. In real life, they'd be heading to Knightsbridge, but in Slow Horses world, the diplomatic address is Carlton House Terrace, just above The Mall. The pair meet in the private garden opposite the embassy, a location the public cannot access. Standish then knocks on the door of Number 11. This is part of the British Academy IRL, and a former home of William Gladstone and later the Guinness family.

2. The Chase

Standish soon emerges from the embassy, held at gunpoint by Tara. The latter immediately releases her hostage and flees down a private alleyway beside number 10 Carlton House Terrace. This apparently emerges several hundred metres away in Green Park, for we next see Tara running down Queen's Passage — a peculiar, part-subterranean cut-through into St James's. This leads out to a different alley, which we've not yet identified, before she's arrested in an adjacent cul-de-sac.

4. Church shoot-out

The establishing shots for the climax were once again filmed on the Bush Fair estate in Harlow, standing in for the unfortunate Abbotsfield Estate. However, the distinctive hexagonal 'church' in which the Mayor is targeted by the Libyans is actually part of Acland Burghley School in Tufnell Park, north London. The building is set to become a Museum of Brutalist Architecture in the near future. The tower shown in the screengrab above, incidentally, has been digitally superimposed.

5. Whelan's home and jog

No prizes for recognising Charles Whelan's home — it's the crescent of colourful houses in Primrose Hill beloved of Instagrammers — specifically Chalcot Crescent. The narrative makes it clear that the MI5 First Desk is out jogging on Primrose Hill. He's not. The real park does not have fenced off walkways and curling steps like those seen in the shots. In fact, the scene seems to have been shot on Lover's Walk in Greenwich Park. The distinctive steps lead Whelan down from One Tree Hill for a date with a would-be-assassin. We've not been able to identify the spot where River makes the kill, but it's probably one of the winding walkways up on the hill.

And that's a wrap. We'll be back in a year or so with the Season 6 locations! Thanks for reading.