Red Eye: where is new ITV series filmed after 'chaotic' scenes almost bring London airport to a standstill

Red Eye is a new thriller coming to ITV this weekend. The six-part series is packed with plenty of mystery; it begins on a flight from Beijing to London, with airports playing a key theme in the tense six-part series.

Starring Richard Armitage (Fool Me Once) and Jing Lusi (Heart of Stone), the story is set around an airport, with themes of conspiracy playing a role throughout. Here’s everything you need to know about where Red Eye was filmed and what happened when they filmed at Stansted airport.

What is Red Eye about?

Red Eye according to ITV is “set between an all-night plane flight from London to Beijing and the corridors of power within Whitehall”. It follows the story of Dr Matthew Nolan (Richard Armitage), who is arrested at Heathrow Airport shortly after returning from Beijing, where he almost died in a car crash. He then has to be escorted straight back to China.

Where is Red Eye filmed?

Red Eye was filmed in London, with Stanstead Airport filling in as London Heathrow. The airport was not closed during production, with real-life passengers often caught up in filming, causing “chaotic” and “unpredictable” scenes, with Essex Live reporting that London Stansted was almost brought to a standstill.

Lusi revealed: "Going from the plane straight to Stansted was like leaving a cosy cocoon and stepping into chaotic madness. It was a real working airport, they didn't shut it down for us, so we were filming among real people with flights coming in. It was completely unpredictable.”

The actor continued: "There’s a big scene in the first episode where Nolan stands on the chairs in the departures lounge and gives an impassioned speech when Hana storms in with armed police to arrest him. There were about 150 supporting artists around Richard and everyone else was a real passenger waiting for a flight."

Armitage added: "There were a few background artists secretly positioned around me at Stansted, but there were also lot of real passengers who ended up in the scene too. It was like live theatre but for people that haven't consciously bought a ticket! You have to be sensitive to the public.

"There were signs up saying filming was in progress, but people aren't really as conscious of their surroundings these days, they're just on their phones. It’s quite delicate filming a scene with actors dressed as armed police! We rehearsed what we were going to do in a different corner of the airport, but we only had half an hour’s notice before we could shoot and I knew we only really had one or two chances to get it right.”

When can I watch Red Eye on ITV?

Red Eye will be available to watch on ITV1 on Sunday, April 21 at 9pm. New episodes will air on a weekly basis in the same slot. If you can’t wait that long, all episodes of the thriller will be available to watch on ITVX after episode one airs on Sunday.

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Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.