Editing Portmeirion (section)

== Filming location ==
{{stack|
[[File:Portmeirionsquare.jpg|thumb|Battery Square and souvenir shops (2007).]]
[[File:Hercules statue by William Brodie (Portmeirion, Wales).jpg|thumb|upright|''Hercules'', a statue by [[William Brodie (sculptor)|William Brodie]] (c.&nbsp;1863; photo&nbsp;2006).]]
[[File:Stoneship 2.jpg|thumb|''Amis Reunis'' (2005).]]
}}
Television series and films have shot exterior scenes at Portmeirion, often depicting the village as an exotic European location. These include the 1960 ''[[Danger Man]]'' episode "View from the Villa" starring [[Patrick McGoohan]] and the 1976 four-episode ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story titled ''[[The Masque of Mandragora]]'' set in [[Renaissance]] Italy.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/0acc1d3e-74c2-4a66-8a3a-20001cf377ca |title=The Welsh Connection: 5 Factoids about the Doctor and Wales |date=2015-03-01 |work=BBC |access-date=2015-03-01 |archive-date=2015-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303133136/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/0acc1d3e-74c2-4a66-8a3a-20001cf377ca |url-status=live }}</ref> The last episode of ''[[Citizen Smith]]'', the Christmas 1980 episode ''Buon Natale'', was filmed partly in Portmeirion. In 2002, some scenes were filmed there for the [[Cold Feet (series 5)#Episode 4|final episode]] (at the time) of the TV series ''[[Cold Feet]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/2841059.stm |title=Portmeirion hosts Cold Feet finale |access-date=2007-09-17 |work=BBC News |date=2003-03-11 |archive-date=2007-03-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313001702/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/2841059.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Both the [[CBeebies]] series ''[[Gigglebiz]]'' and its spin-off series ''Captain Adorable'' were shot in Portmeirion. The village of Llan-ar-goll-en, which appeared in the Welsh preschool show [[Llan-ar-goll-en|of the same name]] on [[S4C]], was also shot there.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.clothcatanimation.com/project/llan-ar-goll-en/ |title=Llan-ar-goll-en |access-date=2020-03-11  |archive-date=2020-08-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811023433/https://www.clothcatanimation.com/project/llan-ar-goll-en/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Portmeirion has been the location for music videos and concerts. The 1980s Scottish band [[Altered Images]] used Portmeirion in their video "See Those Eyes". [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]] used Portmeirion as a setting in their 1987 recording of "The Passenger" for the "Laughing Prisoner" spoof. This video included various scenes from ''[[The Prisoner]]''.{{fact|date=June 2024}}

===''The Prisoner''===
In 1966–1967, Patrick McGoohan returned to Portmeirion to film exteriors for ''[[The Prisoner]]'', a [[Surrealism|surreal]] spy drama in which Portmeirion played a starring role as "[[The Village (The Prisoner)|The Village]]", in which McGoohan's retired intelligence agent, known only as "Number 6", was incarcerated and interrogated, albeit in pleasant surroundings. At Williams-Ellis' request, Portmeirion was not identified on screen as the filming location until the credits of the final episode of the series, and indeed, Williams-Ellis stated that the levy of an entrance fee was a deliberate ploy to prevent the Village from being spoilt by overcrowding.<ref name="bbcdocu"/> The show, broadcast on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] in the UK during the winter of 1967-68 and [[CBS]] in the US in the summer of 1968, became a cult classic, and fans continue to visit Portmeirion, which hosts annual ''Prisoner'' fan conventions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/164089.stm |title=Number's not up for The Prisoner |access-date=2010-10-12 |work=BBC News |date=3 September 1998 |archive-date=13 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313054016/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/164089.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The building that was used as the lead character's home in the series was used as a ''Prisoner''-themed souvenir shop. Many of the locations used in ''The Prisoner'' are virtually unchanged after more than 50 years. A large outdoor chess board was installed in 2016 in homage to its appearance in the series.{{fact|date=June 2024}}

Because of its ''Prisoner'' connection, Portmeirion has been used as the filming location for a number of homages to the series, ranging from comedy skits to an episode of the [[BBC]] documentary series ''[[The Celts (1987 TV series)|The Celts]]'', which recreated scenes from ''The Prisoner''. Other instances have included:

*In 1987 Jools Holland starred in a spoof documentary, ''The Laughing Prisoner'', with [[Stephen Fry]], [[Terence Alexander]], and [[Hugh Laurie]]. Much of it was shot on location in Portmeirion, and it included archive footage of McGoohan.
*Portmeirion, along with the Welsh village of [[Morfa Bychan]], was used as the location for the filming of the [[Supergrass]] video "[[Alright (Supergrass song)|Alright]]". The video includes numerous references to ''The Prisoner''.
*[[Iron Maiden]] recorded a song called "The Prisoner" on their album ''[[The Number of the Beast (album)|The Number of the Beast]]'' (1982). In [[Classic Albums: Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast|a documentary programme]] about that album (as part of the ''[[Classic Albums]]'' TV series), lead singer [[Bruce Dickinson]] wanders through the avenues of Portmeirion and describes how the song was written and how the band's manager obtained permission from Patrick McGoohan to use dialogue from the show in the song's introduction.
*The [[Channel 4]] music programme ''[[The Tube (1982 TV series)|The Tube]]'' produced videos for [[XTC]]'s songs "The Meeting Place" and "[[The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul]]", both of which were filmed in Portmeirion with the band wearing costumes from ''The Prisoner''.
*In Series 12, Episode 13 of ''[[Wheeler Dealers]]'' the finished [[Caterham 7]] is taken to Portmeirion to pay homage to ''The Prisoner'', which featured the [[Lotus Seven|Lotus 7]], the predecessor of the Caterham 7.

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{{Wide image|Portmeirionpiazza.jpg|1083px|Panoramic view of the central piazza}}