Harry Bradbeer: A Few Of My Favourite Things

After years of working across comedy and drama, Park Village director Harry Bradbeer has collected more than a few keepsakes that followed him home from set.

Best known for directing both series of Fleabag and serving as lead director on the first series of Killing Eve, Bradbeer’s work has picked up multiple Emmys and BAFTAs while moving comfortably between genres.

“I’m not someone who easily throws things away, especially if they have meaning.

"If you work long enough in film and television, certain props stop being props. They become markers of time, friendships, and occasionally the odd creative miracle.”

The Statue

This is the statue from Fleabag.

It’s the one she steals from her Godmother at the end of the first episode and which keeps returning over the two series.

As it turned out, it meant far more for the character and the show than any of us expected.

Very late in the process, Phoebe and our story producer Jenny realised the statue was modelled on Fleabag’s dead mother.

It was an inspired idea that came just in time to shoot the final scenes.

Fleabag steals the statue back for the last time and takes her mother with her to the bus stop where the series comes to its end.

She parts from the priest, and then parts from us.

As she walks away she only has her mother with her.

This is a bittersweet memento and a beautiful thing in itself.

The Pipe

This is the pipe Henry Cavill used as Sherlock in Enola Holmes.

He actually puffed on it in one shot, but that got cut sadly.

I was allowed to keep it at the end, which felt rather like being handed Excalibur on the way out of the building.

I do occasionally smoke this pipe and briefly pretend to be a Victorian genius while remembering the fun of working on the 221B Baker Street set.

Millie and Henry fighting over a piece of Dundee cake and Adeel, who played Lestrade, pocketing the pipe as a souvenir.

Everyone had a go on it, even Enola.

It’s a talisman for me.

The Final Clapperboard

This is the very last slate we ever shot on Fleabag.

The shot itself involved a real fox, or rather our attempt to use a real fox.

She was called Blossom and was completely uncooperative.

We were convinced we could coax her into position.

Things boded poorly when the handler warned us she would only come out of her box to the sound of Coldplay.

So there we all were at a bus stop, slate ready, Coldplay on the speaker, praying that Blossom would emerge and hit her mark.

She appeared for ten seconds, sniffed around, regarded us with disdain and then swanned back into her kennel.

In the end we used a VFX fox, who was much better behaved, but I still wish we’d had Blossom.

That girl had attitude.

The 'Socks'

Socks was my dog, inspiration and heart’s treasure.

A remarkable Dachshund-Chihuahua with more pride and personality than most leading men.

He’s no longer with us, but managed to sneak himself into the Enola Holmes films as a sort of animated cameo and my private Easter egg.

Socks appears as the Dowager’s dog in Enola Holmes 1 and twice in Enola Holmes 2.

Firstly, in an animation of Pavlov with me in a beard, and then in a Victorian-style poster on the wall of the music hall as Socks the Wonderdog, inspired by the old novelty acts of the period.

Michael Carlin and the design department went through ten drafts until I was satisfied.

They were very patient and we certainly got a lot out of it.

The poster gets blasted with gunfire in the final shootout.

Enola dodges David Thewlis’s aim and the bullet lands just over Socks’ head.

He was brave that day as always, lived until he was fourteen and sat on the sofa as I wrote for many years.

Now I have his ashes behind my desk.

He will never leave me.

I look forward to his next appearance.