At which London lock was The Fish-Slapping Dance filmed?

The Fish-Slapping Dance was filmed at Teddington Lock in west London.

The sketch features John Cleese and Michael Palin dressed in safari clothing beside the lock. Palin repeatedly approaches Cleese and lightly slaps him with small pilchards while orchestral music plays. The routine then reverses expectations: Cleese produces a much larger trout and knocks Palin into the water.

The sketch was recorded in 1971 for the pan-European special Euroshow 71 and later appeared in the second episode of Monty Python’s third series, broadcast in 1972. A memorable production detail is that the lock chamber was filled during rehearsal but empty when filming took place, making Palin’s jump considerably higher than expected.

Teddington Lock is sometimes confused with nearby Richmond Lock, but the filming location was specifically Teddington. The site is on the River Thames and is also associated with a blue plaque commemorating the scene.