RESIDENTS of a street being used as a filming location for a new HBO TV show have hit out claiming they were not consulted before the shoot.
Locals fear that their quiet road in Upminster, Essex, will be invaded by swarming fans desperate to take pictures of the houses.
SWNSSpringfield Gardens in Upminster in Essex is being used to record scenes for the new HBO series[/caption]
SWNSResidents say they were not informed which show was being filmed on their street[/caption]
Springfield Gardens is being to record Privet Drive scenes in the new Harry Potter HBO series.
Locals have been left furious after saying they were not consulted about the filming.
At the beginning of this year camera crews visited the street to grab drone shots and of the Tudor-style road.
The sweeping footage is due to be used to illustrate the boy wizard’s suburban home.
Local Katie Perry, 42, said her and her neighbours received letters through their doors stating filming would take place in June.
She claims she wasn’t aware it would be for the massive Potter remake though and has been left worried about fans of the J.K. Rowling series turning up to take pictures.
The mum, who has lived on Springfield Gardens with her husband Wayne and two young children for over 15 years, said: “We didn’t know what was being filmed until our house was in the paper.
“We just saw some cameras outside, they never said what it was for.
“It is such a massive franchise, so we are shocked that nobody told us.
“Now we are on some Harry Potter Facebook page with our number plate in the picture.
“We found out on Friday (August 22). My kids were jumping around going crazy.
“It is exciting. I just hope that it will make our house price go up. We didn’t get any compensation for it.
“We are going to get bombarded with wizards. The kids are saying that we should sell Harry Potter merchandise outside the house.
“We are honoured, we just wish we had known.”
SWNSSuper fan Sue Baldwin who lives in Springfield Gardens said she was excited about the filming[/caption]
SWNSResidents are worried the street will be overrun with Harry Potter fans[/caption]
Wayne, a banker in his late 50s, said he only found out what the filming was for from colleagues.
They showed him “the new Harry Potter house” which turned out to be his own front door.
He said: “I recall getting a letter through the post saying that there was going to be filming on the road, but that is all we heard of it.
“There were some people outside with tripods but it wasn’t disruptive so I didn’t really think much of it.
“Then on Friday I started getting bombarded with messages saying we were going to be in the show. People expected we had something to do with the filming.
“Some guys from my work were like ‘look they have picked the new Harry Potter house’ and it was my home.
“To be fair I don’t think it is bad for the area. I think it is nice that they chose our road but at no point did they say it was Harry Potter so it was a bit of a shock. It is quite a big thing.”
Wayne is still conflicted about the news as some fans have already begun stopping by on the street, he worries for the safety of his family.
He added: “I think there is a mixed bag of opinions on the street. Some people are excited and some are concerned.
“Since the news broke, we have already had a lot of people standing outside the house taking photos.
SWNSOne local didn’t know what the filming was for until colleagues informed him his home was set to be the home of the boy wizard[/caption]
SWNSResidents had drones buzzing overhead as they shot sweeping scenes of the street[/caption]
“We don’t know what it means for us in the future. The fact that we have already had people outside after dark when we have two young kids is very strange.
“I just think that given what it is we should have been told. There was not enough information. I don’t know if we would have said yes if we knew what the project was.”
Sue Baldwin, 63, who has lived on the street for over 20 years, is a huge fan of the boy wizard series and was thrilled to find out it was filming on her road.
She said: “They put letters through our door saying that something was being filmed here, and if we didn’t want our house in it we should let them know.
“It said they would be filming for five or six hours on Sunday. It was a very small crew with only seven or eight people there. But they had lots of cameras.
“We were very excited because we didn’t know what they were filming for. It was only when it was in the paper that I found out what it was.
“I am Harry Potter mad. We love to go to Disneyland to see all the Harry Potter stuff.
“My grandkids love the films so when I called my daughter to tell her she thought it was amazing.”
The new series will feature Arabella Stanton, Dominic McLaughlin, and Alastair Stout as Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley.
It also features big names such as Nick Frost, who has been snapped during filming transformed into the character Hagrid.
The Sun has contacted HBO for comment.
Harry Potter Rich List
HARRY Potter star Jessie Cave has launched an OnlyFans page to rake in cash following her movie fame. Yet who are the richest stars from the film franchise?
According to reports, protagonist Daniel Radcliffe, 35, who played magician Harry, is now worth around £100million.
Emma Watson 35, who played Hermione Granger and the lead in Beauty and the Beast, is sitting pretty with £61million.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling, 59 – who famously went from living on benefits to being a multi-millionaire within five years – is now worth a staggering £1.2billion.
Meanwhile Rupert Grint, 36, who played Ron Weasley, has an estimated net worth of £40million.
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