So what’s all this got to do with Auf Wiedersehen, Pet? Well,   it   was   right   here   back   in   1982   prior   to   the   construction   of   Albert   Square   that construction   commenced   on   Auf   Wiedersehen,   Pets   ‘BECO   Building   Site   Film   Set’ (left)   which   would   go   on   to   become   the   focal   point   of   televisions   no1   comedy   /   drama of all time. Various   building   materials   were   imported   from   Germany   including   several   tons   of bricks and blocks for added authenticity. Five    partly    constructed    buildings    were    erected    [below    right    buildings    #1-5]    each forming the backdrop to the majority of the scenes used throughout the first series. The   film   set   was   designed   in   part   to   block   lines   of   sight   to   adjacent   residential properties    in    Borehamwood    and    mimicked    architectural    features    of    the    real    life construction sites in Norderstedt, Hamburg. Pivotal   to   the   story   line   was   the   ‘Admin   Hut’   [8],   ‘Turks   Hut   [7]’   and   home   of   our magnificent   7   -   ‘Hut   B’   [6]   which   was   featured   heavily   prior   to   its   demise   following Wayne’s   carelessly   discarded   cigarette   in   the   13 ^th ,   final   explosive   episode   ‘When   the Boat Goes Out’ It    was    the    magic    of    television    that    interweaved    wider    incidental    scenes    shot    in Germany   together   with   close   up   scenes   shot   in   the   UK   offering   series   continuity   and convincing   our   minds   that   Dennis,   Oz,   Neville,   Wayne,   Bomber,   Barry   and   Moxey were far from British soil.

The BECO Building Site; the film set backdrop to Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Series 1. But where was it filmed and what does it look like today?

The   Elstree   site   (left)   was   later   purchased   by   the BBC   in   September   1983   by   which   time   Central   had moved   to   brand   new   purpose   built   studios   at   ‘Lenton Lane’     in     Nottingham,     where     series     2     would eventually be filmed. Whilst   many   hugely   popular   television   shows   were filmed     at     the     BBC     Elstree     Studios     such     as ‘Morceambe   and   Wise’,   ’The   Muppet   Show’,   ‘Top   of the   Pops’,   ‘Grange   Hill’   and   ‘Holby   City’,   it   is   perhaps best    known    as    the    production    hub    for    the    BBC’s flagship multi award winning soap ‘EastEnders’. To   the   west   of   the   site   and   bound   in   red   (left   & below)    lies    a    magical    2-acre    back    lot    -    currently home     of     ‘EastEnders’     outdoor     film     set     ‘Albert Square’   located   in   the   fictional   London   Borough   of Walford.

Above:   BBC   Elstree   Studios   bound   in   blue;   formally   ‘Central   Independent   Television’   in   Hertfordshire,   UK.   The   area bound   in   red   to   the   west   (the   backlot)   currently   houses   the   EastEnders   outdoor   film   set   where   the   German   ‘BECO Building Site’ film set once stood in 1982. Image courtesy of Google Maps / Andrew C Patrick

The   backlot   is   bound   to   the   east   by   ‘BBC   Elstree   Studios’   and to    the    north,    south    and    west    by    typical    English    terraced housing – in keeping with the soaps gritty ethos. Central   to   the   plan   is   the   ‘Queen   Vic’   Public   House   (right)   with its     distinguished     façade     commanding     views     over     ‘Albert Square’. Whist   the   face   of   this   site   is   soon   set   to   dramatically   change again   in   the   very   near   future   given   the   BBC’s   approved   plans to   demolish   and   relocate   the   current   film   set,   it   will   go   on   to make      television      history      in      its      continued      evolution encompassing   the   very   latest   technologies   in   set   design   thus securing the long term future of the soap.

Whilst    the    first    series    was    set    in    Düsseldorf Germany,   only   a   handful   of   external   scenes   were in   fact   filmed   there.   Further   north,   the   small   town of     Norderstedt     in     Hamburg     served     as     the backdrop   to   a   number   of   long   distance   incidental shots    together    with    several    close    up    scenes across two partly constructed ‘real’ building sites.  But   it   was   in   Hertfordshire   UK   –   some   12   miles north   of   London   -   that   the   vast   majority   of   scenes were   in   fact   filmed   on   a   purpose   built   outdoor   film set     offering     production     filming     control     and flexibility. Whilst   the   first   scripts   were   written   for   Associated Television     (ATV),     it     was     in     1982     when     the company   restructured   under   the   guise   of   ‘Central Independent    Television’    that    Auf    Wiedersehen, Pet was produced.