How The Thursday Murder Club transformed a village

Helen Mirren filmed in the picturesque Hertfordshire village

A village used in the movie adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club book has been improved using money from the Netflix production crew.

Helen Mirren was part of the team that filmed at Aldbury in Hertfordshire during July 2024.

In that time, the village was transformed into Fairhaven, the setting of Richard Osman's 2020 murder mystery novel.

Aldbury Parish Council has told the BBC that funds from the filming have gone towards improving the common, refurbishing a school playground and adding a duck house to the village pond.

The village hall was made to look like a police station

Ray Warren, vice chair of the authority, wanted the production team to come back and film more.

"We didn't have a moment's problem with them," he said.

"It's one of those things where you have to balance the disruption to the village versus the benefit of having that income.

"I think generally speaking, most people in the village recognise that having them come in, spend money in the village with us, has been really, really helpful because we've ploughed all that back into the village."

The town shop was redecorated to look like a tea room

During filming, the production team altered the village to transform it into the fictional Fairhaven.

The village hall was redecorated to look like a police station, fake signs were added, and nearly 40 white posts were installed in the common near the duck pond.

While most of these additions were removed when filming was completed, the white posts remained because villagers liked them so much.

Mr Warren said: "They were a legacy from the filming. When they came in, they changed a lot of things in the village to make it look more authentic.

"So all those white posts were left behind for us... They were fantastic."

Fairhaven is a location from Richard Osman's series of murder mystery novels

Council clerk Gosia Turczyn watched as Mirren filmed a scene outside the fake police station on the star's birthday.

She recalled: "When Helen Mirren had her car picking her up after shooting, we sang Happy Birthday... So, she received a small cake and then everyone sang her a Happy Birthday."

Some villagers were also paid for use of their homes, and free coffee was given to residents.

The film is based on Osman's 2020 bestseller

The Netflix film is produced by Steven Spielberg's company Amblin Entertainment and directed by Chris Columbus, who was the director on the early Harry Potter films.

In the film, a group of retirees attempt to solve a murder.

The cast includes stars Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie, Ben Kingsley and David Tennant.

It was filmed in parts of Surrey, Berkshire, Kent, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

The film is based on Osman's bestseller, which was followed by three sequels, and a fifth book is planned to be released in September.