As a child I was fascinated by the exotic names of certain cities: Havana, Rio de Janeiro and Los Angeles sounded so glamorous to me, and I was determined to visit them (which I eventually did). But never in my childhood musings did the country of Czechoslovakia join this roll-call of dream destinations. However, since a few friends returned from filming in the renamed Czech Republic and extolled the virtues of Prague, it started to interest me. So, I was delighted when producer Mark Rozzano offered me the role of Francesca Carlyle in his murder mystery Murder Between Friends. ‘Brad and George have made movies there,’ he said, ‘and the technical crews are extremely experienced.’ He was so right. As soon as we started shooting in a wonderful old castle in the charming town of Usobi, outside Prague, it became exceedingly clear that the mostly Czech crew were equal to any I’d worked with both in the UK and US. Not only that, but to a man (and woman) they all spoke perfect English.
Our ‘quarters’ during the shoot were in the magnificent Chateau Heralec, a beautiful hotel and spa where sadly we didn’t have the time to partake of the delights of the heated indoor swimming pool or any of the many beauty and health treatments on offer. However, I shall definitely return to sample them as the staff were kind, cheerful and polite and, again, spoke perfect English. We had an absolutely massive suite with a stunning view of exquisitely tended grounds and the food was superb. Although I’m not keen on partaking of deer and boar, the dill soup was exceptional, and my husband told me he’d never had a better club sandwich.
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