Based on David Nicholls’ 2009 bestseller, One Day is a romcom that bears repeating. Smart, sweet and acute, it will make you laugh, cry and also think about the people in your life. It’s already had a big-screen adaptation in 2011, but since that was a bit of a damp squib, it’s with full justification that Netflix have given it a full 14-episode treatment under the guidance of Nicole Taylor, writer of the excellent Wild Rose and TV hits Three Girls and The Nest.
Following the ups, downs, rounds and abouts of the relationship between handsome, charming Dexter (Leo Woodall, last seen in The White Lotus) and pretty, clever Emma (Amika Mod, This Is Going to Hurt), One Day is too big to binge but perfectly formatted for TV. Starting with their meeting on 15th July 1988, each episode takes place exactly a year on, so we see our stars growing up, messing up, falling out and making up.
We also see them in all sorts of different places, from student lodgings to country houses and from a Parisian garret to a Tudor wedding venue. Along with its top-notch cast and a great soundtrack that puts Proustian hits alongside beautifully chosen oldies, the sheer variety of locations in One Day is one of its many delights. Here’s our guide to the highlights.
Where is the Graduation ball in One Day?
Edinburgh
In episode one, Emma and Dexter meet for the first time at their Graduation Ball, on the final night of their time at university. The party was filmed in the surrounds of Edinburgh University’s Old College, the grand neoclassical series of buildings constructed at the turn of the 19th Century (when it was known as the New College) to a design by John Adam, though its impressive dome was added in 1887. Around its central courtyard are the Playfair Library Hall and Talbot Rice Gallery, and it remains at the heart of the university.
From here, the pair wander to Emma’s flat, filmed in Viewforth to the southwest of the city. After a sleepless night, they decide to climb Arthur’s Seat, the great volcanic hill that overlooks Edinburgh from the east, and is now part of Holyrood Park. Eventually, they part, but Dexter catches up with Emma to exchange phone numbers on The Vennel Steps, another city landmark in the Old Town that’s known as the best place to view Edinburgh Castle.
Where is the hotel in Rome in One Day?
In episode two, while Emma is touring primary schools with her theatre group, we find Dex living it up in Rome. On his way to meet his parents (Essie Davis and Tim McInnerny), we see him enjoy the sunshine in front of the 17th-century Fontana dell’Acqua Paola and the Spanish embassy across the via Garibaldi, and later wandering amid the greenery and restaurants of the Trastevere quarter.
For the hotel where he meets his mother, with its enviable view of the Rome skyline, filming took place at two hotels near Piazza Navona. The terrace is part of the Bio Hotel Raphaël on Largo Febo, while the entrance where Dex says his farewells is the Campo de’ Fiori, on via del Biscione.
What is the Greek island in One Day?
Paros
In episode four, Emma and Dexter take a holiday together in Greece, where the boundaries of their friendship are tested by sun, sea, sand and a single bed. For this, the production was filmed on the island of Paros, one of the Cyclades group. We see the harbour at Naousa, on the north of the island, as well as several of the island’s beaches and the whitewashed backstreets of the main town, Parikia, on the northwest.
Where is Sylvie's home in One Day?
Hertfordshire
In episode nine, Dexter has a challenging first stay with his new girlfriend Sylvie (Eleanor Tomlinson) at the very impressive home of her parents, Lionel (Toby Stevens) and Helen Cope (Joely Richardson). For this, the production used Benington Lordship, near Stevenage in Hertfordshire. This Georgian manor, with gardens landscaped in the early 20th century, was built on the site of an 11th-century castle and has a Norman keep and a folly, built in Norman style in the 1830s, in its grounds. It has previously appeared in TV series Harlots and The Gold and is a popular destination in February for its snowdrops, as well as host to the Benington Chilli Festival every August.
Where is the wedding venue in One Day?
Hertfordshire
In episode 10, Dexter and Emma are reunited at the wedding of mutual friend Tilly (Amber Grappy). For this, filming took place at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, one of the UK’s most popular screen locations, with credits including the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider films, The Favourite and Paddington 2, as well as TV behemoths The Crown and Bridgerton. While most productions have used the main house, built in 1611 and home to the 1st Earl of Salisbury, One Day took over the Old Palace, the original Tudor building that was the childhood home of Elizabeth I. We see the tapestry-lined brick Banqueting Hall, as well as the garden and its famous maze.
Where is Emma's apartment in One Day?
Paris
In episode 12, we find Dexter arriving in Paris, where Emma has moved for a research visit. Here, they walk down Rue Pierre Semard, close to the Gare du Nord, then pause for a heart-to-heart on Passerelle Emmanuelle Riva, an iron bridge that crosses Canal St Martin. Eventually, they arrive at Emma’s apartment on Rue des Gobelins in the 13th arrondissement. The quiet neighbourhood was the historic centre for Paris’s tapestry makers and is known for its Korean and Vietnamese restaurants, as well as the eye-catching Pompidou Centre-alike refurb of the Cité de la Mode et du Design on the banks of the Seine nearby.
Where in London was One Day filmed?
While Dex and Emma’s reunions often take them away from home, most of the action in One Day takes place in London. In episode three, they catch up with a bottle of wine on Primrose Hill, in the north of the city, but many of their significant moments take place in restaurants – as in the same episode, when Dexter surprises Emma at her workplace, Mexican restaurant Loco Caliente, filmed at disused pub the Old Suffolk Punch in Hammersmith.
In episode five, we see Emma without Dexter on a date with workmate Ian (Jonny Weldon) at the “fancy” Forelli’s, in fact, the Adelphi Bar at Smith & Wollensky in the West End. Episode seven ups the stakes when Dexter takes Emma to “The Pacific”, a celeb hangout reminiscent of 90s destination The Atlantic Bar, which is, in fact, the famed Quaglino’s in St James’s, a Thirties institution revived by Terence Conran in 1993.
From this height of glamour, things head back down to earth. Episode 13 sees them eating pizza at Bella Roma in Lewisham, and then at the newly opened “Café Belleville”, a venue of great personal significance for them both. This deep-blue corner café can be found in Highbury on Calabria Street, where it goes under its real name of La Maison.
One Day streams on Netflix from Thursday 8 February.