How ‘Ted Lasso’ turned a charming London suburb into a tourist hotspot

A Fictional Football Coach Is Reshaping a Real London Suburb

Activelifezero.com – Twenty minutes by train west of central London, Richmond-upon-Thames has spent centuries earning its reputation through deer-strewn parks, Tudor-era royal architecture, and the quiet grandeur of the Thames waterfront. Richmond Palace, the medieval residence of English monarchs, anchors the area’s historical identity. Yet in recent years a very different kind of visitor has flooded the cobblestone lanes: fans of a television comedy-drama about an American football coach who stumbles into English soccer with nothing but relentless optimism and a talent for one-liners.

Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso,” now deep into its fourth series, chose this leafy Thames-side suburb as its primary filming ground. The result has been a measurable tourism surge. Local hospitality operators have noted a doubling of American visitors since the show first aired, drawing fans eager to walk the same streets their favourite fictional characters inhabit. The phenomenon has transformed a historically quiet commuter town into a destination where selfie sticks outnumber picnic blankets on certain afternoons.

The Show and Its Pull

At its core, “Ted Lasso” follows the titular coach, portrayed by Jason Sudeikis, as he attempts to rebuild a struggling English football club armed with sheer belief and an encyclopaedic supply of zingers. His boss, Rebecca, is played by British actress and singer Hannah Waddingham; the team’s ball-hog-turned-loyal player Jamie Tartt is embodied by Phil Dunster. The narrative weaves coaching drama with broader questions about culture, belonging, and redemption.

Natalia, a Brazilian visitor who made the journey specifically to walk Richmond’s filming locations, summed up the show’s gravitational pull outside The Prince’s Head pub:

“I just love it. The first time you watch it, you think the series is about football. But the culture, the messaging — it’s about so much more.”

The fourth season’s premiere last month set a new benchmark for Apple TV, becoming the platform’s largest single-night launch to date. That spike in viewership translated almost immediately into foot traffic on Richmond’s streets.

Walking the Map: Key Locations

For the determined pilgrim, the suburb offers a dense cluster of recognisable spots. Coach Lasso’s fictional apartment sits on Paved Court, a narrow lane lined with window-shopfronts including a delicatessen and a millinery. A short walk down the same lane brings visitors to the official “Ted Lasso” merchandise shop, where AFC Richmond kits in red and blue hang beside tins of shortbread labelled “biscuits for the boss.”

At the far end of Paved Court stands The Prince’s Head, a seventeenth-century pub that doubles as the show’s “Crown and Anchor.” Inside, publican Mae Green — played by Annette Badland — keeps tabs on her patrons during match days. Outside, however, lies the suburb’s most photographed prop: the wooden bench where Coach Lasso perches in contemplation. Lines form regularly, particularly in summer.

Directly opposite the pub, Richmond Green unfolds as a tree-lined common where medieval jousting tournaments once entertained visiting royalty. Today visitors picnic, jog, or join a casual kickabout, mirroring the show’s pastoral interludes. The waterfront itself claims London’s longest continuous stretch of the River Thames, and fans recreate the first date between Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Keely Jones (Juno Temple) with a slow amble along Richmond Bridge, underscored by buskers on the towpath. A puppet-theatre barge drifts nearby, and one riverside pub sits so close to the waterline that it floods at high tide — complimentary gumboots are kept at the bar.

Beyond the Screen

Richmond’s cultural infrastructure extends well past the show. The Richmond Theatre, operating since 1899, hosted Rebecca’s charity gala in season one and remains a venue for West End transfers and touring productions. It offers a natural evening capstone to a day spent tracing the series’ geography.

One notable absence: the team’s home ground, called “the dog track” in dialogue, does not exist in Richmond. Match-day scenes are shot at Selhurst Park in south London, home of Crystal Palace Football Club. Tour operators have filled the gap. Ted Lasso Tours, launched in 2022 by Richmond resident Emmy Mac, runs private and group itineraries covering 27 filming locations. Her clientele skews heavily American, though she has hosted groups from India, Singapore, and Mexico.

Local Voices

Not every resident embraces the influx. Steve Lloyd, who has called Richmond home since 1992, says he has lost count of the tourist photographs in which his face appears in the background. He admits the show did not convert him personally:

“I tried to watch it — got 15 minutes in and thought, ‘this is crap.'”

Even so, Lloyd acknowledges the economic reality: the suburb’s shops, pubs, and cafés now serve a global audience that would not have existed a decade ago. Whether that trade-off — quiet residential character against commercial vitality — resolves in Richmond’s favour remains an open question as the series continues to draw new viewers, and new visitors, to its Thames-side set.