Miranda Jessop meets the woman who saved Twickenham Studios
Not so long ago, my youngest child was lucky enough to be invited behind the scenes on the set of the CBeebies programme, Topsy and Tim. As the cameras stopped rolling and my star-struck daughter was busy high-fiving her twin idols, I found myself distracted by the sight of Hugh Grant in period costume disappearing through a door just behind us.
But this was not hip and happening Soho: it was Twickenham Studios, a hub of diverse filming activity where the likes of Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman rub shoulders with Teletubbies favourites Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po.
And today I am meeting Maria Walker, the woman responsible for saving this priceless piece of local heritage when it was faced with closure five years ago, and for transforming it into the thriving facility of today.
St Margarets Studios, as it was originally called, was set up in 1913 by a Dr Ralph Jupp on the site of a former ice rink. At that time, it was the largest studio in the UK and its first film was a silent drama called The House of Temperley. Then, in 1929, it was purchased and renamed Twickenham Film Studios, with adventure film Call of the Sea among the first to be released. Over the years it went through many changes and, during a period of expansion in the 1970s and 80s, the volume of work steadily increased. Films such as Nineteen Eighty-Four, An American Werewolf in London and A Fish Called Wanda were shot on the stages, while Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and Richard Attenborough’s Cry Freedom and Gandhi were all in post-production here.
Maria Walker
Throughout the 1990s the studio continued to thrive, enjoying a busy time with both film and TV productions, and the new millennium also started well with Hollywood blockbusters such as Reign of Fire. But in 2005, owner Moustapha Akkad was tragically killed by a suicide bomber in Jordan and the studio was left without any real direction. Despite working on such highly successful films as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and The Iron Lady, it went into administration and, by February 2012, seemed destined for demolition.
Step forward Maria Walker, long-term St Margarets resident, to found the ‘Save Twickenham Studios’ campaign. Having started her career in the film industry 25 years previously as a runner, Maria had worked her way up to the position of project manager in post-production. As a freelancer she had worked at Twickenham Studios on various films and had rented an office there for a while.
“The idea of flattening the oldest studio in the country and turning it into housing appalled me,” she tells me. “It was a superb facility that had just been neglected. I knew that it could work with a bit of tender loving care.”
So Maria started an online petition, emailing everyone with whom she had ever worked. They, in turn, emailed other people. And so it grew.
“It was an unrelenting assault: in the space of five weeks I had over 7,000 signatures including people like Steven Spielberg.”
By May the developers had withdrawn their bid.
“Taylor Wimpey issued a statement saying that they had been misled,” explains Maria. “They had been told that the place was no longer viable as a film studio, and they now felt that this was misinformation.”
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In August 2012 the site was purchased by Sunny Vohra, a businessman with no actual experience in the industry, but a deep love of films.
“Soon after that, Sunny asked to see me to get my views on how to run the studio. I was a bit cheeky and told him that he should put me in charge. We had a long chat and, after about three hours, shook hands.”
It was clearly the right decision. As Chief Operating Officer of Twickenham Studios for the past five years, Maria has completely turned it around.
“It was a leap of faith on Sunny’s part and a leap for me too,” she reflects. “But my experience was in project management and this was basically the same on a much larger scale. The staff around me were very supportive, as they had all been faced with the prospect of losing their jobs. I think it also really helped that I was so familiar with the studio; that I already knew what needed to be done.”
What was the greatest challenge?
“Getting the message out that we had been saved; that we were trading and open for business. Also addressing the fact that the studio had been starved of investment. A lot of things needed to be done – and very quickly. My mission was to upgrade all the equipment and bring the studio into the 21st century.”
To see the studio now in full throttle is to grasp the incredible job that Maria has done. With three sound stages, a water tank for underwater scenes, make-up rooms, dressing rooms, wardrobe departments, prop rooms and extensive post-production facilities, Twickenham Studios is once again poised to become an industry leader. It has 50 permanent members of staff, many of whom live locally, and there is always a broad range of filming projects on the go. Florence Foster Jenkins, War Horse and Amy are but three of the most recent.
“I think the A-listers like the fact that they can come here and wander around St Margarets without being hassled. We had Angelina Jolie filming for five months and nobody even knew she was here.”
Maria’s latest project is the launch of The Lounge, the studio’s exciting new private members club. Right up on the top floor, the chic and contemporary restaurant, bar and terrace enjoy panoramic views of Richmond Park and the surrounding area.
“It was previously the studio manager’s office, but I just knew that, with views like this, we needed to do something special.”
The idea is to bring together a community of like-minded individuals, drawn from the creative industries, in one relaxing space. There will be a programme of special events and movie screenings for members, while Twickenham chef Penny Subbotin has been enlisted to create eclectic Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes with ingredients sourced from local providers.
“I see it as a little bit of Soho dropped onto the rooftop in St Margarets; a place where our members can enjoy an element of privacy and sophistication,” explains Maria.
How then does she reflect on her five years at the studio helm?
“I love coming in and sensing the buzz, seeing the activity and all the people.”
And is she proud to have saved such a major part of Twickenham history?
“It proves that if you firmly believe in something, and your intention is good, you can make things happen. It could have been anybody who took up the mantle. It just happened to be me.”
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