The Thursday Murder Club setting of Coopers Chase was inspired by a real-life retirement village called St George’s Park. It’s a place close to the heart of Richard Osman – writer of the novel behind the new Netflix film – for the most lovely reason. 

Whatever horrendous crimes are committed in The Thursday Murder Club series, the books make Coopers Chase itself seem an idyllic place to spend one’s hopefully tranquil retirement years. (And its screen location is incredible – more on later.)

That’s deliberate – because the writer-presenter-producer-podcaster Richard Osman fell in love with the real retirement village he based Coopers Chase on. It’s where his mother lives.

So what are the real-life secrets behind the coolest pensioners’ hangout that cosy crime has to offer? TVGuide spoke to one of the residents of Ma Osman’s Sussex retirement village, Bob Russell, to find out how genuine the fun and thrills of Coopers Chase are.

What inspired Richard Osman to write about a retirement village?

He wanted to write a thriller set in a retirement village after visiting his mum, retired teacher Brenda Osman, at her then-new home in Sussex in 2017.

Seeing Brenda thrive with her new neighbours gave the TV exec an idea, which has sparked four novels so far. A fifth book in the series, The Impossible Fortune, is due to be published on September 23.

Speaking to The Penguin Podcast in 2020, Osman explained: “I found mum’s retirement village very beautiful and very moving. Everyone is in their seventies, and we’re told to think certain things about people in their seventies, but they were having such a laugh.

“They were drinking, gossiping, there’s loads of politics. It’s extraordinary people from loads of different backgrounds all mixing together. I thought: ‘This is an interesting gang of people. If there was a murder here, these people would solve it, that’s for sure.’ That’s where the idea came from, really.”

Chris Columbus, director of The Thursday Murder Club film, told The Daily Mirror: “Richard initially conceived Coopers Chase as a place unlike most of the traditional assisted living places we’ve seen in books and films: places that are unwelcoming, depressing and dreary.

“We wanted Coopers Chase to be a sort-of wish fulfilment retirement community, somewhere that audiences who saw the movie would say: ‘I’d love to spend the last 15 to 20 years of my life in a place like this.’”

Bob, who has lived at St George’s Park since 2016, confirms: “It’s absolutely not that sort of depressing and dreary retirement home here.”

Where is the real Coopers Chase from The Thursday Murder Club?

The retirement village that inspired Coopers Chase is St George’s Park in Burgess Hill, West Sussex (rather than in Kent, where the novels are set). Brenda, now aged 83, moved to St George’s Park when Richard bought her one of the village’s 240 residential apartments in 2017, three years before the publication of the first of The Thursday Murder Club novels.

St George’s Park is in 250 acres of countryside, and also has 27 assisted living apartments to rent. Amenities include a heated swimming pool, several cafés, a restaurant, a gym, a bowling green, allotments and even a working farm.

Read more: Murder Most Puzzling on Channel 5: Ending explained, including Cora and Sherry’s secret, and news on series 2

How does the Coopers Chase real-life inspiration compare to The Thursday Murder Club incarnation?

Former Barclays Bank executive Bob told TVGuide: “Coopers Chase is an exaggeration of St George’s Park. For instance, the film shows residents playing archery. We don’t have that here. But we do have all sorts of activities, like a thriving book club, a poetry group, a vibrant choir… There’s a lot you can do, but it’s a very gentle way of life at St George’s Park.”

Are the friendships as strong at St George’s Park as they are among the gang in the film? “That’s the biggest similarity,” confirms Bob. “The camaraderie we have here has come out in the film. There’s a great friendship we have here, which you see in how the four people in The Thursday Murder Club working together.”

What if you don’t fancy a real-life Joyce from the film nattering at you? “You can be involved in the community as much as you want to be,” says Bob. “You’ll never go out in the morning without somebody saying: ‘Good morning, how are you?’ You’ll have a chat. But if you want solitude and to be on your own, you can be.”

Does St George’s Park have its own Thursday Murder Club?

Not yet. But Richard’s mum is a member of a book club and a “knit and natter” weekly get-together.

Are the residents of St George’s Park similar to The Thursday Murder Club detectives?

There are similarities. As with retired spymaster Elizabeth Best, there really are a couple of retired secret service workers among St George’s Park’s residents.

But Bob Russell says: “I can’t identify any particular people from the club in the books. I could maybe guess, but I don’t think Richard has based anyone on any particular people here.”

Read more: Murder Before Evensong: First look at C5 murder mystery based on the novel by Reverend Richard Coles

All about Englefield House, location of Coopers Chase filming for The Thursday Murder Club

Englefield House is a stately home in Reading. It’s where Pippa Middleton tied the knot in 2017, and has previously appeared as a location in The King’s Speech, The Crown and the 2012 adaptation of Great Expectations, starring Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham-Carter.

Built in 1558, Englefield House landed its role in The Thursday Murder Club because its church and graveyard matched descriptions in the novel, as well as looking suitably opulent for Thursday Murder Club crime solvers Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley) and Joyce (Celia Imrie) to live in.

Set designer James Merrifield said of choosing Englefield House: “Its scale and architecture worked well as the ex-priory depicted as Coopers Chase in the book.

“Within the house itself, many rooms and corridors were dressed to provide the residents with their elegant communal spaces. But there were also some substantial set builds, including the Jigsaw Room where the gang congregates.”

How does Englefield House compare to the real Thursday Murder Club retirement village at St George’s Park?

Bob Russell says: “Englefield House is nothing like St George’s Park, I’m afraid. We have 240 apartments in the Sussex countryside, and Englefield House is a great big castle.”

Is Englefield House open to the public after appearing in The Thursday Murder Club?

Not the house itself, but its gardens are open to the public up until October this year, at a cost of £5. The estate also regularly hosts events including music festivals, country fairs and classic car auctions.

What does Richard Osman’s mother think of her retirement home’s new fame?

Brenda Osman loves how her son has portrayed St George’s Park in The Thursday Murder Club. Branda told Good Housekeeping: “It’s a happy place. People come here because they want to. I don’t think you’ll find anyone with negative things to say about the place.”

And what do residents make of St George’s Park’s new fame? “Oh, we’re very happy with the books,” says Bob Russell. “There’s no anger at all. There’s a lot of interest in the film too, of course. We show films once a month, to about 50 people at a time. For The Thursday Murder Club, well over 100 people put their name down.”

Read more: First-look images of The Thursday Murder Club from Netflix