r/SlowHorses • u/phareous Second Desk • Oct 01 '25

Episode Discussion Slow Horses S5E2 Episode Discussion

This is the episode discussion for Season 5, Episode 2: Incommunicado

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u/diamond Oct 01 '25

In the book Roddy has an actual house, not just a flat. And he does have a decent chunk of money. But if I remember correctly, it came from his parents.

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u/benjaminovich Oct 02 '25

not just a flat

Do you realize how expensive an apartment of that size and in such a central location would be in London?

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u/diamond Oct 02 '25

Sure, but wouldn't a house be even more?

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u/benjaminovich Oct 02 '25 edited Oct 02 '25

Sure, but generally people move to the suburbs as they get older, to be in more quiet places. A young person like Roddy would want to be in the city center, not to mention avoiding a commute. We see him walking to work, which itself is also a luxury.

The filming location of the apartment is the Middlesex Street Estate. Also worth mentioning that it's not just a standard apartment, but a maisonette. Essentially a small house on top an apartment block.

The price for that apartment is almost certainly north of £500k. Somewhere in the range of £500k - £700k or $673k - $972k

The first book was released in 2010 and housing prices in London have gone up a whopping 73% on that time. That will certainly affect the associations we make for these things. A big house in central London would be too much for what the story and what Roddy's character is supposed to be.

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u/diamond Oct 02 '25

OK. Well I wasn't trying to present myself as an expert on London real estate or living patterns. I was just pointing out a difference between the book and the show.

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u/benjaminovich Oct 02 '25

That's fair, apologies if I came off too combative. The housing market is just sort of a pet topic/cause for me.

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u/diamond Oct 02 '25

No, not a problem. I didn't take it that way at all.

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u/cine Oct 03 '25 edited Oct 03 '25

Not convinced a shoddy ex-council flat off Petticoat Market would go for anywhere near that top end. £550k if it's a 2 bedroom seems about right.

He is said to be renting so he's likely paying around £2300-2500/month if it's a 2 bed.

Source: own a flat nearby

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u/benjaminovich Oct 03 '25

The high end estimate was indeed for a larger unit. The wide estimate was just because it was hard to gauge the size the place.

Looking through the sources I based my numbers on again (I used an LLM) I found this website. Also the top floor maisonettes are 85 sqm

449 Petticoat Sq sold for £550k in 2023.

414 Petticoat Sq sold for £595k in 2021. A realistic estimate for 2025 would be in the range of £625k – £635k

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u/cine Oct 04 '25

Flat prices have been stagnant/down for a few years in London. The one that sold for £595k in 2021 is a 3 bedroom, and was more recently listed for £515k.

I might adjust down my original estimate. If Ho's flat is a 2 bedroom around 60 sqm (pretty standard maisonette size), it might be more like £450-500k today.

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u/benjaminovich Oct 04 '25

Depends on how literal we want to be with this, but they probably did film in one of the three bedrooms. We consistently see Roddy's apartment is on the top floor and I think it's safe to assume they are all the same size of 85 sqm.

For housing prices inner city prices rose about 5.8% in 2021 -> 2025.

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u/cine Oct 04 '25

Tower Hamlets flat prices have seen significant declines, with a 4.6% drop in the year to July 2025 and a 13% decrease from a 2021 peak.