I don’t know who watches Channel 4’s Big Brother these days – I certainly don’t, and nor do my two teenage children and their friends – but people who do might be intrigued to know that underneath the house is the water tank used in the 1955 film, The Dam Busters. Although various locations around the UK were used in the making of the film, much of it was actually shot on three huge sound stages built at Elstree Studios. One of these was presumably constructed around the tank (although Jonathan Falconer’s useful book, Filming the Dam Busters, is not specific about this). Other important landmarks in cinema history shot here include The Young Ones (Cliff Richard! Robert Morley!!?) and Monty Python’s Meaning of Life (the one with Mr Creosote).
