Rail bosses were concerned about the hit BBC thriller Nightsleeper, which depicted a cyber attack on a cross-border train service. Producers of the show attempted to persuade Serco, the operator of the service at that time, that featuring the Caledonian Sleeper in the series would bring it the same level of fame as The Orient Express. However, senior staff at the rail company declined to grant permission to film exterior shots for the show.
The drama series, starring actors such as Joe Cole, James Cosmo, and Alexandra Roach, revolved around an overnight train between Glasgow and London that falls victim to a digital hijacking incident. The train depicted in the series, named the Heart of Britain, followed the exact route of the Caledonian Sleeper’s Glasgow to London service, which lasts for 13 hours.
Private briefings released under Freedom of Information laws revealed the back-and-forth between the production company, Euston Films, and the Caledonian Sleeper service. The producers requested to film exterior shots of a six-carriage train at Glasgow Central and Motherwell, but were ultimately turned down by the Sleeper representatives due to capacity limitations.
Despite Serco’s refusal and subsequent loss of the contract when the rail service was nationalised, filmmakers managed to shoot scenes at various stations, with the train’s exterior being created using CGI instead. Caledonian Sleeper managing director Kathryn Darbandi stated that the production team had visited the real train before building their own set for filming.
In summary, the clash between the rail bosses and the production team of Nightsleeper highlights the fine line between promoting a service through media exposure and safeguarding its reputation from negative associations, even if fictional. The behind-the-scenes challenges faced in bringing the thrilling story to life shed light on the complexities of balancing entertainment value with corporate considerations in the world of television productions.