Where is Top Boy filmed? Location guide for Netflix’s season 5

While season 4 took things all the way to Spain and back, season 5 transports viewers back to the Summerhouse estate in the London borough of Hackney.

But is that where the series is really filmed? Read on for our Top Boy location guide.

Where was Top Boy filmed?

The Summerhouse Estate has had multiple stand-ins over the years. When the series was on Channel 4, exterior scenes in and around the estate were primarily shot on the Heygate Estate in Elephant and Castle, London.

However, the estate was demolished in 2014, meaning that when the show returned in 2019, it needed a new home.

Since then, exterior scenes have been shot on the Samuda Estate (above), which can be found on the Isle of Dogs. Even some of the interiors, such as the characters' bedrooms, were filmed on the estate, with locals offering up their flats for the shoot.

Similar scenes have been shot on the De Beauvoir estate in Hackney (reportedly the basis for Summerhouse), while locations in Haggerston, Dalston and Newham have also been used, adding to the series's well-established authenticity by using recognisable East London locations.

Other London settings seen throughout the series include Walworth Academy in Southwark, which was used for the show's school scenes, and Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone.

The main market setting that we see Jaq, Kieron and the rest of the gang hang out at and deal drugs in is Ridley Road Market in Dalston, while the iconic Number One Cafe is very much a real, functioning cafe of the same name - which can be found in London Fields.

Another important mainstay in the newer seasons has been the bench that Jamie (Micheal Ward) and his brothers Aaron (Hope Ikpoku Jnr) and Stefan (Araloyin Oshunremi) go to sit on and talk to their deceased parents.

The location is another one being returned to in season 5, and can be found in Victoria Park's Old English Garden.

Season 4 also saw Shelley (Little Simz) open up her new nail salon, with season 5 hopefully seeing Shelley's business venture continue to be successful. If you're in the mood to get your own nails done (or just see where it was filmed), Shelley's Nail Bar is actually a nail salon in Canning Town called Kiki's Nail Salon.

In the past, filming locations further afield in the UK have included Margate and Ramsgate in Thanet, Kent, which Kane Robinson's Sully visited for a two-episode arc in season 3.

Season 3 also saw some of the cast and crew travel to Jamaica, where Ashley Walters's Dushane was hiding out. They filmed a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot which you can watch below.

In the fourth season, the series went even more global, with locations including Morocco and Spain used to show the full breadth of the drug trade.

The official tagline for the season read: "This time it's bigger than just Summerhouse. Loyalty before everything."

But this time around, with season 5, there's a fitting return to Summerhouse, the estate where it began for Sully and Dushane - and where fans will have to bid farewell to the show.

Where is Top Boy set and is the Summerhouse Estate real?

Top Boy is primarily set on the fictional Summerhouse Estate in Hackney, North East London. In fact, the estate is of such importance to the series's identity that the original two seasons, which aired on Channel 4, have been rebranded on Netflix as Top Boy: Summerhouse.

While Summerhouse isn't real, it's been said to have been inspired by the De Beauvoir estate in Hackney.

Top Boy season 5 will be released on Netflix on 7th September 2023, with previous seasons available to stream now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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