TV crews low-tech solution to prevent damage to stately home's floors

• Wolf Hall could not have been made without a large box of tennis balls
• Series, which starts on Wednesday, was filmed in National Trust properties
• To keep the delicate floors scratch-free, the Trust insisted the film crew attach tennis balls to the feet of their tripods and lighting stands

By Amy Oliver for The Mail on Sunday

17 January 2015

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The attention to detail has been extraordinary, with a team of historians brought in to advise and a host of venerable locations used. 

Yet the BBC’s hotly anticipated new drama Wolf Hall could not have been made without one surprisingly low-tech accessory: a large box of tennis balls.

The six-part series, which starts on Wednesday and stars Damian Lewis as Henry VIII, was filmed in six National Trust properties. 

Ace idea: The tennis balls on a tripod in Barrington Court, Somerset, and right, Damian Lewis as Henry

To keep the delicate floors of stately homes including Montacute House in Somerset and Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire scratch-free, the Trust insisted the film crew attach tennis balls to the feet of their tripods and lighting stands.

The bizarre demand was even written into the production firm’s contract.

Harvey Edgington, head of film and locations at the National Trust, said: ‘Protecting the properties is really important.’

David Johnson, location manager on Wolf Hall, said: ‘The electricians probably just go to a sports shop, buy 200 tennis balls and then give them to the most lowly spark and say, “Cut holes in that, mate”.’

 

To keep the delicate floors of stately homes including Barrington Court, pictured, and Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire scratch-free, film crews attached tennis balls to the feet of their tripods and lighting stands