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Designer 'shocked' to see his garden in hit drama

Rumeana Jahangir
BBC News
Native Landscape Design Drone shot of the patio behind the house. It is cream with a L-shaped sofa, table, pair of sun loungers, outdoor dining table and chairs. Plus a dark canopy hangs over another dining table and outdoor kitchen.Native Landscape Design
The Wirral garden has an extensive patio with an outdoor kitchen, hot tub and huge sofas

The designer of a garden which features prominently in the BBC drama series This City Is Ours has spoken of the "pleasant shock" of having his work seen by millions of viewers.

Mike Walker helped design the spacious grounds, complete with outdoor kitchen, hot tub and sun loungers, outside the home of the Phelans in the show about a fictional Merseyside crime family.

More than six million people watched the first episode of the series, which has become a word-of-mouth hit and is due to end on BBC One later.

Mr Walker runs Native Landscape Design, which was commissioned in 2022 by the owners of the property in Caldy, Wirral.

BBC/Left Bank Pictures Julie Graham, wearing a brown buttoned shirt, appears in front of the spacious green garden which has grey seating and table to the left.BBC/Left Bank Pictures
Actress Julie Graham plays matriarch Elaine Phelan, who often holds family meetings in the garden

Mr Walker said he "had no idea" the garden would become a location in the drama, adding that he only noticed it while watching the series on the BBC iPlayer with his wife.

"It was bewilderment," he said. "I wasn't expecting it - it was a pleasant shock!"

The huge garden first appears in the fourth episode of the series, when the action moves back to Merseyside after a detour to the Phelan family's Mediterranean villa.

Mr Walker said he worked with another company, Bespoke Outdoor Spaces, which built the garden over four months.

"When I first saw the garden, the patio was really narrow and felt quite cramped," he explained.

Since the patio did not get much light due to its north-facing aspect, he suggested extending it "to create a space that actually gets some sun".

BBC/Left Bank Pictures The Phelan family of five - plus baby - are seen sitting on the garden sofa or standing up during a meeting.BBC/Left Bank Pictures
The garden provides a stage for many of the affluent Phelan family's meetings
Native Landscape Design Mike Walker and Matthew Stevenson, both wearing smart suits and ties, pose together at an award ceremony in front of a sign saying Professional Landscapers Awards Native Landscape Design
Mike Walker worked with Matthew Stevenson (right) from Bespoke Outdoor Spaces to build the garden over four months

A huge sofa that has become the focal point of many meetings for the Phelan clan, dubbed the "Scouse Sopranos", was added.

Mr Walker said he felt some pride at seeing several characters - who live the high life of champagne and haute couture - sitting on the garden's "wide porcelain steps".

The garden has made an impression on many viewers, with Mr Walker saying his firm had seen a "20% increase in enquiries" recently, not just in Wirral but across north-west England and north Wales.

Although a possible second series has not been confirmed, some of the show's actors have said they would be very keen.

The full series of This City Is Ours is available on BBC iPlayer

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