Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Sophia, Moscow Road, W2

A bit of old Russia in Bayswater has proved to be a gift to London-based film-makers needing to conjure up that country’s unique atmosphere. The elaborately gilded Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St Sophia, aptly enough on Moscow Road, is the scene of the inevitably doomed wedding between homosexual composer Tchaikovsky (Richard Chamberlain) and the naïvely romantic Nina (Glenda Jackson) in Ken Russell’s The Music Lovers.

Its glittering interior is also the ‘St Petersburg’ church, where Natalya (Izabella Scorupco) bumps into Boris (Alan Cumming) in GoldenEye, though the film doesn’t use the Cathedral’s exterior (for that, you need to visit Brompton Cemetery in Earl’s Court).

Cathedral of St Sophia

Goldeneye (1995, dir: Martin Campbell)
The Music Lovers (1970, dir: Ken Russell)