By Luke Kelly on 04.11.2026 | Home of spectacle

Britain, the fantasy island

From Thunderbirds and Doctor Who to Harry Potter and Game of Thrones, the British Isles has long had a reputation for being the world's workshop for fantasy. These key lots tell the story of Britain's long-held fascination with all things fantastical.

From the Hammer horror era in the 1950s through the technicolour boom of Doctor Who and Thunderbirds of the 1960s, to the all-conquering superhero and sci-fi streak that began with Star Wars and Superman and continues today, Britain has been the home to the biggest fantasy and science-fiction franchises for decades.

And that’s no accident. The UK produced many of the writers who defined modern fantasy, horror and speculative fiction, while simultaneously investing in and developing the studios, craftspeople and production culture to bring those worlds to life.

Greg Staples Hand-Painted 4K Restoration Poster Master Art, Concept Art, and Hammer Films Promotional Items

Britain wasn’t just adapting fantasy stories, it was inventing them. From Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, to H.G. Wells, J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis, there’s something about the ancient isles that inspires expansive fantasies, and also works as a backdrop for filming them.

The Hammer films, represented in the auction by artist Greg Staples’ stunning The Curse of Frankenstein artwork, resurrected Dracula as a global phenomenon, helping to establish the UK as a leader in gothic fantasy. Doctor Who and Thunderbirds expanded Britain’s reach, earning the country a reputation for vivid, imaginative storytelling on comparatively modest budgets.

The late 1970s marked a real turning point when American filmmakers started to turn to Britain to make use of its studio space, skilled crews, and special effects artists. The triple-whammy of Star Wars, Superman: The Movie, and Alien all produced in the UK, and released across 1977, 1978, and 1979 respectively demonstrated that Britain could deliver Hollywood-scale fantasy and science-fiction spectacles.

This was all under-pinned by the growing dominance of the James Bond films across the 1960s and 1970s, with many of its craftspeople working across multiple franchises. The success of GoldenEye, which filmed at the nascent Leavesden Studios, established a new player in the UK studio space leading on to becoming the home to Harry Potter in the early noughties. All eight Potter films and the three Fantastic Beasts films were filmed at the Watford studio, which is now home to the Harry Potter studio tour. And without the success of Harry Potter, it’s unlikely HBO and Sky would have brought GRR Martin’s Game of Thrones to screens.

The UK remains the location of choice for many blockbuster franchises. Jurassic World Rebirth, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Barbie were all brought to life in the UK, while Sam Mendes’ Beatles biopics, The Batman Part II, and Phoebe Waller-Bridges’ Tomb Raider reboot are all currently in production, and that’s thanks to the rich heritage and expertise built up by the UK film industry over the decades.

These fantastical homemade visions will only help to inspire the next generation of writers, who will continue to generate new fantasy worlds for the big and small screen.