FILM · 2007 · FRANCE
Hot Fuzz
- Directed by
- Edgar Wright
- Runtime
- 121 min
- Studio
- Big Talk Studios, StudioCanal, Working Title
167 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
Former London constable Nicholas Angel finds it difficult to adapt to his new assignment in the sleepy British village of Sandford. Not only does he miss the excitement of the big city, but he also has a well-meaning oaf for a partner. However, when a series of grisly accidents rocks Sandford, Angel smells something rotten in the idyllic village.
Summary: TMDB
134 Interesting Facts About Hot Fuzz
- #003
Nick Frost only agreed to do the film if he could name his character. He was also asked to watch more than twenty action films to get into the role. He watched only one: Bad Boys II (2003).
- #004
Contains a major spoiler — show
Timothy Dalton said this film, especially the scene in which Skinner and Angel shoot at each other during the chase, was the most fun scene he had ever experienced in a film. Jim Broadbent stated that driving "James Bond" during this scene was exciting for him. Simon Pegg also stated that the sequence between Angel and Skinner and the fistfight were the same kind of excitement for him to shoot, noting that being shot at and fighting "James Bond" was far beyond anything he had imagined.
- #005
Edgar Wright initially wanted to title the film "Hott Fuzz". Simon Pegg objected to the suggestion because he feared he would have to explain the extra "t" in "Hott" in every interview about the film.
- #006
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Timothy Dalton raises his glass to Eve and Martin's "memory", Dalton looks at the camera for a very brief moment. Edgar Wright liked it so much that he synchronized the sound of the cash register writing "ching" at the same moment.
- #007
In the DVD commentary, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg explained that they fully expected the deliberate misspellings in the newspaper headlines to turn up in IMDb's "Goofs" section.
- #008
Nicholas's ex-girlfriend Jeanine is on the scene. Blanchett wanted to appear in the film because of her fondness for Shaun of the Dead (2004).
- #009
At the Q&A session held after the film's screening in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Edgar Wright revealed that the film features hidden cameo roles by two Oscar winners, Cate Blanchett and Sir Peter Jackson. Jackson appears as the Santa who stabs Nick Angel in the hand during the opening montage, while Blanchett appears masked as Angel's ex-girlfriend, a Scene of Crime Officer (SOCO).
- #010
The dog Sampson (played by the dog Saxon) was not allowed to be a real police dog because he was considered too friendly.
- #012
While Nicholas chases a thief in the supermarket, Danny reads the taglines on cheap action films selling at half price. "Police Story 3: Supercop (1992), titled "Supercop: Meet the Unstoppable Cop". When he realizes the chase has begun, he tosses the DVD back into the bargain bin, and the viewer sees it land next to a DVD copy of Shaun of the Dead (2004), though its title is "Zombies Party", the release name of "Shaun of the Dead" in certain countries. The price tag covers [link=Simon Pegg]'s face so as not to break the fourth wall.
- #013
The photo of young Danny is a real photo of Nick Frost's childhood.
- #014
While researching the film, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg discovered that a disproportionate number of police officers were named Nick or Andy, which led to the character names Nicholas Angel and the two Andys. The Angel part of Nicholas Angel was named after the film's music director, and the joke about the local newspaper misspelling Angel's name as "Angle" was based on several incidents in which this happened to him.
- #015
After the great success of Shaun of the Dead (2004), Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright were given the freedom to do whatever they wanted in their next film.
- #017
While researching the film, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright interviewed many real police officers. Many lines in the film, such as "I prefer to think my office is out on the street", came directly from these interviews. The stylized scenes of Nick doing paperwork were inspired by officers noting that paperwork is a big part of the job but is never depicted in police shows and films. The visual style was inspired by Tony Scott's films. Roger Ebert's "Bigger" Little Movie Glossary was also used as a reference source.
- #018
The voice on the intercom when Angel gets angry in the supermarket is that of director Edgar Wright.
- #019
Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg went to Brixton Police Station hoping to get some anecdotes from serving officers, and even offered to take them to a bar. However, every officer refused to talk to them. It soon emerged that the liaison officer had mistakenly told his colleagues that Wright and Pegg were journalists. The liaison officer was never forgiven.
- #020
As preparation for the role of Nick Angel, Simon Pegg took firearms training and also learned how to ride a bicycle properly along the way.
- #022
While preparing for the role of Nicholas Angel, Simon Pegg lost two stone (twenty-eight pounds, close to thirteen kilos).
- #024
Contains a major spoiler — show
While preparing to write the film's screenplay, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg read a book by film critic Roger Ebert containing all the clichés of action films, so that they could include them all. These include: a character waking up in a dark hotel room and hitting the light switch without fumbling (Nicholas Angel does this), a shot of the centre lines of a road from a moving camera (used when Angel returns to London), and a smiling person in charge actually being the villain. Other clichés were taken from Mad Max (1979), Lethal Weapon (1987), Man on Fire (2004), Bad Boys (1995) and Chinatown (1974).
- #025
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Despite the heavy gunfire and violence in the final act, no character is shot dead. It is unclear whether any of the victims in the underground vault were killed by gunfire.
- #029
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright spent eighteen months writing the screenplay.
- #030
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Inspector Frank Butterman arrives at the town council after Nick discovers them, his police uniform is a Victorian-era uniform (note the VR - Victoria Regina - letters on his helmet). These details reinforce the idea that Sandford is a town "frozen in time" and that its residents are reluctant to change.
- #031
Somerfield was formerly a real supermarket chain in the UK, and all the exterior scenes were shot at one of its stores. Edgar Wright chose to use it because he had worked there as a shelf stacker in his youth, and as a nod to this he made a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo as a shelf stacker in the Somerfield store.
- #032
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In the early scene where Nicholas Angel goes for a run on his first morning in Sandford, all the N.W.A. members can later be seen standing in the positions they take for the final showdown.
- #033
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The Latin phrase "bonum commune communitatis" spoken by the N.W.A. means "for the common good of the community".
- #034
Edgar Wright's hometown of Wells, Somerset, England, doubled as Sandford in the film. The street where Nicholas Angel chases the thief was where Wright walked to school and had his first kiss. The shot during the chase where Angel notices the swan was filmed outside the house of one of Wright's friends.
- #035
The phrase "The greater good" is never said only once. Every time a character says it, at least one other character repeats it.
- #036
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost were reportedly arguing before filming the waiting scene. Pegg claims Frost had become arrogant and wanted the assistant directors to bring him coffee, while Pegg wanted him to get his own coffee. As a result, shooting that scene took four hours and they did not speak to each other except while acting.
- #037
Contains a major spoiler — show
Throughout the first half of the film, Danny asks Angel annoying questions such as "Have you ever shot two guns at once while diving through the air?", and Angel answers, "No - you've been watching too many cop movies! The job isn't like that." Then, in the second half, Angel does everything Danny asked about, firing two guns while leaping through the air. The only thing Angel does not do is fire into the air while screaming - Danny does that. Also, while the police team is in the pub on Nicholas's first day, the Andys mention that in small towns everyone, especially farmers and their mothers, carries firearms; not only are they right (at least in Sandford), but the first people to shoot at Angel are a farmer and his mother.
- #038
Although Bill Bailey plays two different Sergeant Turners, both wear a uniform with the service number 101, even when they appear in the same scene.
- #040
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As Angel and Butterman discuss the first four victims and try to work out what connection might exist between them, Angel is in fact stating the ultimate motive behind each murder: the drama club president was a terrible actor, the young lover had a "distinctive laugh", the reporter was a bad speller, and the wealthy land developer had an ugly house.
- #042
Just before the climax, two jokes are briefly visible: an advertisement for Romeo and Juliet featuring Blower and Draper's stand-ins, and a Sandford Citizen headline reading "A Fete Worse Than Death" about the church picnic.
- #043
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Despite firing his firearms repeatedly, Angel actually shoots only two people. The rest are either hit by an object Angel shot or are shot by Danny.
- #044
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It is said that a swan's wing can break a human arm. At the end of the film, Jim Broadbent's character, who is forced to be run over by the swan in the car, is seen being loaded into an ambulance with his arm in a sling.
- #045
Despite being used throughout the film as the stock placeholder name in the phone book, the character named "Aaron A. Aaronson" is actually the last character listed in the credits.
- #046
It took Simon Pegg and Nick Frost more than two hours to get home and arrive at work on time. After a while they could not understand the point of it and decided to sleep in their caravan.
- #047
Throughout the entire Cornetto Trilogy (Shaun of the Dead (2004), this film and The World's End (2013)), there is always the same joke about whether or not they get over a fence.
- #049
While wearing the priest costume, strangers who assumed he was from the cathedral approached Paul Freeman many times.
- #050
Edgar Wright shot most of the film in his hometown. The festival scenes were shot in front of St. Cuthbert's Parish Church in the city of Wells.
- #051
The code name "Dead Right," under which the film was sent to British cinemas, is actually the title of an amateur short film Edgar Wright wrote and directed during his student years.
- #052
For the siren at the beginning of the film, twenty-seven different sirens were combined, including a scream, a bell and a whistle.
- #053
While Sergeant Angel is chasing the thief, he asks Danny: "Never taken a shortcut before?" This line was used in Shaun of the Dead (2004) and is parodied throughout the entire Cornetto trilogy.
- #054
According to Edgar Wright, Paddy Considine (Andy Wainwright) secretly slipped two Robert De Niro impressions into the film; the first during Angel's "murder rant" as a face in the incident room, and the second during the final confrontation in the pub.
- #055
Simon Skinner (Timothy Dalton), the manager of the local Somerfield supermarket, was partly based on Mike Stockwell, Edgar Wright's former boss, who was the manager of the Somerfield supermarket used in this film and where Wright used to work. However, Wright decided not to give the character his name because he thought 'Stockwell' seemed too weedy a name for a supermarket manager.
- #057
On the notice board at the front entrance of Sandford Police Station there is a poster showing a person dressed entirely in black, the herald of the hooded killers, along with their slogan: KEEP THEM OUT.
- #058
Simon Pegg trained for four weeks to prepare for the role.
- #059
The fictional "Norris Avenue" takes its name from Chuck Norris.
- #060
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At the start of the village fete scene, a voice over the tannoy announces that 'a surprise awaits someone at one o'clock.' This line foreshadows Tim Messenger's death at exactly 3 o'clock.
- #063
Simon Pegg became attached to the Mossberg shotgun and named it "Sarah."
- #065
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Skinner (Timothy Dalton) approaches Angel (Simon Pegg) after the previous night's car accident, which involved an actor and an actress who had appeared in William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", the car stereo is playing Dire Straits' "Romeo and Juliet".
- #066
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During the climactic confrontation between Sergeant Nicholas Angel and the citizens of Sandford, Angel walks in slow motion surrounded by birds. This is a trademark of action director John Woo, used in films such as Mission: Impossible II (2000), Face/Off (1997) and Just Heroes (1989), as well as in the act of diving through the air while firing two guns.
- #067
Nicholas Angel's service number is 777, which is generally seen as the mark of God, just as 666 is seen as the mark of the devil. The only character who calls him by this number is Timothy Dalton, who played Agent 007 in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989).
- #068
Nick Frost is actually a West Ham fan and apparently hated wearing the Bristol Rovers shirt.
- #069
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During the confrontation in the pub between Nicholas, Danny and the owners Mary and Roy, there is a brief silence as the owners reload their weapons before the officers burst through the flaming front door. During this silence, the music of an arcade game plays. This game appears in all three parts of the Cornetto trilogy; Ed plays it at the beginning and near the end of Shaun of the Dead (2004) in Winchester, drawing the surrounding undead crowd toward the group. It also appears briefly in The World's End (2013) as Gary King and his friends head toward The King's Head.
- #070
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Although Nicholas tells others always to keep their notebooks with them, the only moment he does not have his own notebook is when Leslie is killed while going to his car to get it.
- #071
The desk sergeant is reading Iain Banks's book "Complicity", which deals with a series of brutal, even fitting murders.
- #072
Near the end of the film, the missing swan is seen reunited with its owner, Mr P. I. Staker.
- #073
Sandford police station has ten police officers. These consist of one Inspector, five Sergeants and only four Police Constables.
- #074
In the epilogue, Sergeant Angel is shown having been promoted from his stripes to Inspector.
- #075
This is the only film in the Cornetto Trilogy in which Simon Pegg's character does not fall off a fence. In Shaun of the Dead (2004), Shaun tried to jump over one and fell when he reached the top. In The World's End (2013), Garry jumps over a fence and knocks it down. In this film, Nicholas (Simon Pegg) successfully jumps over all of them, while Nick Frost's Danny smashes the fences.
- #076
As an indication of how far behind the Sandford police force is, the Bobby's helmet Frank wears in an exciting scene bears the monogram VR, for Queen Victoria, instead of ER (Queen Elizabeth II).
- #077
When Sergeant Fisher is first introduced, a freeze frame reveals that the words "inefficient", "rude", "disloyal", "indecisive", "non commital" [sic], "late", "lack of leadership skills" and "unfit" can be read on the drawing board behind him.
- #078
The two Andys also have synonymous surnames: Cartwright and Wainwright; both are terms for someone who builds or repairs carts and wagons.
- #079
"N. W. A.", Sandford's Neighbourhood Watch Alliance, is also the name of the groundbreaking rap group "N. W. A.", whose most famous song is "Fuck Tha Police", a sentiment clearly relevant to the film's subject.
- #080
Some elements of the film were taken from Edgar Wright's film "Dead Right", which he made when he was eighteen or nineteen years old. The film is included in this film's 3-Disc Collector's Edition.
- #082
When Nicholas first arrives in Sandford, he very much enjoyed tending to (and discussing) the Japanese peace lily. This plant species is famous for requiring little care, minimal sunlight and water about once a week.
- #084
Contains a major spoiler — show
Danny (Frost) shoots Dr. Hatcher in the leg with an air rifle. In Shaun of the Dead (2004), Frost's character Ed is told he should not use the air rifle because he shot his sister in the leg with it. During the climactic shootout in the town, Danny and Nick are caught by Dr. Hatcher, who tells them to put aside their fun. Danny throws his shotgun to the ground, where it discharges and hits Dr. Hatcher in the foot.
- #085
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Angel fights Skinner, the manager of the Somerfield supermarket in the model village, Skinner drops his gun. He is briefly seen crashing into the front entrance of the Somerfield supermarket. A few shots later, when Skinner attacks with a utility knife, the Somerfield model is stepped on by a delivery truck, and the truck slides as it rolls.
- #086
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Another example of foreshadowing hidden in the film: when Danny mentions a "car accident," Nicholas corrects him, saying they should use the term "collision" because "accident" implies "there's nobody to blame." Later in the film, Nicholas asks Danny how his mother died, and Danny innocently answers "car collision." It is later revealed that Danny's mother deliberately killed herself, meaning there really was "somebody to blame."
- #087
Bill Nighy shot his scenes in a single day.
- #088
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Near the beginning of the film, Inspector Butterman says he is "something of a Wild West nut." Near the end of the film, he is confronted by Nicholas and Danny with their two pistols, a common trope in Western films.
- #089
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Unlike the film's other villains, Michael "Lurch" Armstrong (a butler) is the only one who regrets his actions, and he is seen crying when his photograph is taken at the police station.
- #090
Billie Whitelaw's last film.
- #091
According to Edgar Wright, the producers approached Jim Broadbent for Shaun of the Dead (2004), but he turned down the offer. He later regretted it and said he would not make the same mistake twice. The role of Frank was written specifically for him.
- #092
Despite its modest image, many members of the N.W.A. are masters of the action genre. Paul Freeman appeared in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Stuart Wilson in Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) and No Escape (1994), and Timothy Dalton played James Bond in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989). NWA head Edward Woodward was named the greatest British action star for his undercover agent roles in the television series Callan (1967) and The Equalizer (1985).
- #093
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When Simon Skinner drives past the exploded house, Arthur Brown's song "Fire" is playing in his car.
- #094
Contains a major spoiler — show
One of the many examples of foreshadowing hidden in the film: at the beginning, Nicholas replies to Inspector "With all due respect, Sir, you cannot just make people disappear" with "Yes, I can. I'm the Chief Inspector." In the end, it is revealed that another Inspector (Butterman) is behind the many cases of people disappearing in Sandford.
- #095
The song the theatre troupe performs at the end of the Romeo and Juliet play is The Cardigans' "Lovefool." The song was popularized by Romeo + Juliet (1996), a modernized interpretation of Shakespeare's tale, which clearly influenced the stage play in the film, which also features guns.
- #096
Although sending police officers to catch escaped swans seems exaggerated, there is some truth to it. In the United Kingdom, there are cases, though rare, of police officers being dispatched to do exactly that. Because of the film's popularity, news reports of such incidents often mention the film.
- #097
The song playing as Angel runs through the village is The Kinks' "Village Green Preservation Society." It foreshadows the villagers' group at the end of the film. The group at the end of the film is trying to preserve the old way of life in the village, and the song foreshadows this.
- #099
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There is some foreshadowing in the festival air rifle scene. Hatcher is accidentally shot in the foot by Danny, and Nick says, "He's a doctor, he can deal with it." This happens again later in the film, when Nick returns to Sandford shortly before the start of the climax.
- #101
The film's age rating was debated because of its strong language and violence. It was released with an R rating in the United States and a "15" rating in the United Kingdom and most of Europe.
- #102
According to the front cover of the test booklet, Sergeant Nicholas Angel took his police officer exam in 1995, twelve years before the film was made.
- #103
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright prepared for the film by studying Roger Ebert's "Bigger" Little Movie Glossary.
- #104
At the castle, Joyce says, "Janice Barker has decided to name her twins Roger and Martin." This may be a joke referencing Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs, the main characters of the Lethal Weapon series. Stuart Wilson, who plays Dr. Hatcher, also played the main villain Jack Travis in Lethal Weapon 3 (1992).
- #106
The sound effect used when the quick-draw gun is fired was taken from the 1984 arcade game Hypersports, from a player inserting a coin.
- #107
The mothers of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg play two of the "Village of the Year" judges.
- #109
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When Danny is introduced as a colleague, he is impressed by Angel's career and the action he has seen, and asks him several "Have you ever…" questions. During the big showdown, Danny will do all of these things himself.
- #110
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On Sergeant Angel's first day of work in Sandford, while the whole station is at the pub on its lunch break celebrating Angel's arrival, one of the Andys says "everyone and their mum is packing in the country." He then gives the example of farmers and their mothers owning guns. This later pays off when Angel returns to Sandford for his armed confrontation. The first person he meets is Mr. Reaper, a farmer who calls for help from his mother, who has a shotgun.
- #112
The film had an eleven-week shooting schedule.
- #114
Several of the actors appeared in the recent Doctor Who (2005) series: Simon Pegg, Bill Nighy, Timothy Dalton, Olivia Colman, Ron Cook, Anne Reid, David Bradley and Bill Bailey. Jim Broadbent also played the Doctor in the Comic Relief spoof "The Curse of Fatal Death." Nick Frost played Santa Claus in the 2014 Christmas special.
- #115
The film's DVD includes a special section explaining some gaps in the plot. For example, when the news editor is killed by a falling stone, it explains that he was standing in exactly the right place, that he had a sweet tooth, and that the killer left some sweets on the ground at the spot to make sure he would be there.
- #116
During the final fight, Frank's obsession with the Wild West is reinforced by his choice of weapons: two Colt Single Action Army revolvers, or "Peacemakers." The revolver was legendary in the Old West, used by figures such as Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, and also appeared in many of the films this film imitates.
- #117
In the scene where Nicholas and Danny respond to "some hippie types messing with the recycling bins," the police car's gear knob is decorated with "HF."
- #118
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During the shootout, Nicholas fires at the tire of a delivery truck, sending beer barrels rolling and knocking Mr. Treacher to the ground. The beverage company is named Cascade Drinks, reflecting the cascade of barrels.
- #119
Playing a Metropolitan Police Inspector, he appears on screen to hasten Nicolas Angel's transfer out of London, and reappears near the end alongside Metropolitan Chief Inspector Bill Nighy to beg Angel to return to London.
- #120
At 1:02, as Angel and Butterman stand in the rain, one of the detectives calls Butterman a monkey. This continues the joke from Nick Frost's scene in Shaun of the Dead (2004), where he imitates Clyde from Every Which Way But Loose (1978). He later imitates a monkey's walk as he leaves.
- #121
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In the final scene, as Nicholas Angel walks through the churchyard to meet Danny, he is carrying a gun, which is unusual for a British police officer.
- #122
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This is the second time Jim Broadbent plays a dangerous police officer who ends up arrested. The first was DCI Slater in Only Fools and Horses (1981), arrested for diamond smuggling.
- #124
Compared with Shaun of the Dead (2004), Edgar Wright was exhausted after four weeks of shooting; the exhaustion only showed toward the end of filming.
- #125
It is the second film in Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's unofficial "Blood and Ice Cream" trilogy. The first is Shaun of the Dead (2004) and the third is The World's End (2013). It is also known as the Cornetto trilogy.
- #126
Although written as an affectionate comedy parody of the genre, its underlying story and plot still work as a straight dark police procedural action drama or as an episode of a police procedural series.
- #127
The film includes a scene that may be a thinly veiled spoof of the CSI story universe and of how CSI forensic investigations are portrayed. In the real world, in most agencies globally, equivalent CSI personnel at crime scenes and in the lab would generally wear head-to-toe "forensic boilersuits" similar to those seen in microchip clean rooms, to prevent evidence contamination. A scene in Hot Fuzz mimics the fact that crime scene teams would actually be almost indistinguishable at a scene, unlike the many television and film portrayals in which CSIs wear normal clothes on site.
- #129
Jim Broadbent, David Bradley and Bill Nighy all appeared in the Harry Potter film series. Rafe Spall is the son of Timothy Spall, who also appeared in the Potter films.
- #130
Many of the main cast of Shaun of the Dead (2004) appear in this film, such as Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Bill Nighy. Some actors with small roles in Shaun, including Rafe Spall, Julia Deakin, Patricia Franklin and Martin Freeman, have larger roles here, and producers Garth Jennings and Joe Cornish have small roles in both films. Other similarities: both films feature a pub and a Cornetto ice cream. Director Edgar Wright uses the same fast zooms and cross-cutting in both, and the scene in which Shaun jumps over a fence and collapses is given a comedic twist here, where Angel clears them perfectly and even somersaults over one.
- #131
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Edward Woodward (Tom Weaver) appears in both this film and The Wicker Man, another film about a police officer uncovering a conspiracy in a small town. In The Wicker Man he plays the police officer; in this film he is one of the main conspirators. He dies by fire in both: in Hot Fuzz he is blown up by a sea mine, and in The Wicker Man he is burned alive inside the titular structure.
- #133
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The film shares some plot similarities with Outland (1981), a remake of the classic western High Noon (1952). Nicholas Angel is transferred to Sanford and begins investigating the horrific deaths of community members that were believed to be accidents. He comes to believe the deaths were murders rather than accidents, uncovers a conspiracy behind them, and discovers that Inspector Frank Butterman and other villagers are behind it.
- #135
While Angel chases a thief through the supermarket, a DVD of Shaun of the Dead briefly appears.
- #136
When Angel and Skinner fight in the model village, Skinner loses his gun. Skinner smashes through the door of a model building whose real-life counterpart is his own Somerfield supermarket, and is later stopped when he collides with a model truck that is also Somerfield's.
- #138
Lurch takes his name from the Addams family's servant in The Addams Family (1964).
- #139
Part of the shoot was postponed because of heavy rain.
- #140
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While Nicholas talks with Tony at Leslie's murder scene, a small model goat can be seen on the safe. Because the ritual sacrifice of animals such as goats was common practice in many ancient-world cults, this is a hint at the cult-like NWA behind the murders. It is also poignant because he is the only one who feels some remorse for killing for "the greater good," meaning they felt he was a genuine sacrifice rather than just someone who got in their way.
- #141
Shane Black, an experienced screenwriter of action films, greatly enjoyed this film.
- #143
It features four actors from various Lord of the Rings adaptations. Sir Peter Jackson played Santa Claus (Father Christmas) in the opening montage. Bill Nighy played Sam Gamgee in a BBC Radio broadcast. Cate Blanchett played Galadriel in Peter Jackson's films. Martin Freeman played Bilbo Baggins in Jackson's Hobbit trilogy.
- #144
In the Video Diary extra among the 2-disc DVD bonus features, Simon Pegg jokingly says he can spend only up to seven minutes a day in his trailer.
- #145
Simon Pegg and Steve Coogan had previously appeared together in Watership Alan (1997), one of Pegg's first television and film appearances.
- #146
Simon Skinner (Timothy Dalton) refers to George Merchant (Ron Cook) as "that fridge magnate." In the TV film Dead Gorgeous (2002), Cook's character was a millionaire who made his money from refrigerators.
- #148
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The music that plays as the police officers go to arrest Simon Skinner comes from The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977). That film starred George Lazenby, one of the predecessors of Timothy Dalton's James Bond role.
- #149
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This is the first time Olivia Colman (Police Constable Doris Thatcher) played a police officer. The second time is in the television series Broadchurch (2013), where she played Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller alongside David Tennant as Detective Inspector Alec Hardy. Although David and Olivia were not in the same season, they both appeared in the Doctor Who universe, as the Tenth Doctor and Prisoner Zero respectively, since Olivia only appeared alongside Matt Smith (the Eleventh Doctor) in The Eleventh Hour (2010).
- #150
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The wooden-handled knife Danny (Nick Frost) uses to stab Nicholas (Simon Pegg) is a French-made Opinel.
- #152
It was released two years before Edward Woodward's death in 2009.
- #153
Filming of any single scene featuring most of the cast took three weeks.
- #155
Olivia Colman (PC Doris Thatcher) and David Bradley (Arthur Webley) also worked together on five episodes of Broadchurch (2013), as Ellie Miller and Jack Marshall.
- #156
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In the film, when Martin Blower and Eve Draper are killed, the murderer makes their deaths look like a traffic collision, while in the bar scene where Nick and Danny decide to get drunk, Danny tells Nicholas that his mother died in a traffic collision. This foreshadows that Frank Butterman will be revealed as the mastermind and chief conspirator behind the murders.
- #157
At one point Angel is called Miss Marple. The film features many actors who appeared in film and TV versions of Agatha Christie novels. Timothy Dalton also played Christie's husband Archie in Agatha (1979).
- #158
Nicholas uses chrome Taurus PT92 pistols, not the Beretta 92 as some believe.
- #159
The film contains the shortest car chase ever.
- #160
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The film's plot is similar to Outland (1981): Sean Connery plays a police officer transferred to a mining colony on Io, one of Jupiter's moons. Sean Connery was the first actor to play James Bond. Timothy Dalton (Simon Skinner) was the fourth actor to play Bond.
- #161
Jim Broadbent (Frank Butterman), Rory McCann (Lurch), David Bradley (Arthur Webley) and Kevin Eldon (Tony Fisher) all appeared in Game of Thrones (2011), but never shared scenes together. Paddy Considine (Andy Wainwright) later appeared in House of the Dragon (2022), the prequel series to Game of Thrones.
- #162
There are two references to Chinatown: the obvious iconic final line, and the fact that Lurch's mother is also his sister.
- #163
Simon Pegg jumps over a fence in every instalment of the Cornetto Trilogy.
- #164
In the first scene with the Chief Inspector, if you watch his face closely after he says "Yes I can, I'm the chief inspector," he gives Nicholas a brief, sharp, devilish look.
- #165
Nearly all of Sandford's residents have surnames derived from occupations, such as Turner, Cooper and Skinner. The two Andys' surnames, Wainwright and Cartwright, both denote the same trade (cartwright).
- #166
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Billie Whitelaw shoots and shouts "Fascist!", it echoes the battle at the end of If… (1968).
- #167
Near the beginning of the film, when Nicholas Angel first enters the police station, Sergeant Turner jokingly says he has already "arrested the whole village," and Nicholas replies "Not exactly." The same dialogue appears near the end of the film, when Farmer Roper asks whether he is going to "just walk in and arrest the whole village," and Nicholas gives the same reply.
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