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Taylor Swift flew 3,500 miles from the States to make a blockbuster music videoCredit: Getty<\/p>\n
Taylor was at Croydon\u2019s Whitgift complex for filming<\/p>\n
Barriers were seen beside the shopping centreCredit: Click News and Media<\/p>\n
And incredibly, she managed to avoid being photographed once during her week-long stay in the UK.<\/p>\n
The Sun on Sunday can exclusively reveal that Taylor travelled by private jet from New Jersey to Hampshire last weekend.<\/p>\n
She filmed at a handful of secret locations, including the partially-derelict Whitgift shopping centre in the South London borough of Croydon.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s thought the video \u2014 rumoured to have had a \u00a31million budget \u2014 is for the track Opalite, from her latest album The Life Of A Showgirl<\/a>, which was released in October.<\/p>\n An insider said: \u201cThis video was shrouded in secrecy, with Taylor\u2019s security team working day and night to ensure she wasn\u2019t sighted at any point. It was like a military operation.<\/p>\n \u2018Nostalgic feel\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cBut she IS the most powerful woman in pop, so if she wants to go unseen, she\u2019ll make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, crew and extras were seen at the Mildmay Club in Stoke Newington, North London, where Oasis shot an Adidas commercial earlier this year.<\/p>\n An onlooker revealed: \u201cExtras in retro dress were spotted exiting the venue, along with festive props including Christmas trees, glitter cannons and tinsel.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMost read in Entertainment\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u201cBanana milkshake was used for eggnog, while grape juice stood in for posh champagne.\u201d<\/p>\n But on Tuesday, the action moved to Croydon, when half of the Whitgift Centre was hired out for rumoured Christmas shopping scenes.<\/p>\n Giant white screens were thrown up to stop customers sneaking a peak.<\/p>\n An onlooker added: \u201cSecurity was really tight. Taylor and her cast were given numbers instead of names, and were whisked between cars and buildings under a fortress of umbrellas and screens to keep the whole project under wraps.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve never seen secrecy like it.<\/p>\n \u201cSome shops were informed of filming, but they were told it was for an insurance commercial \u2014 something suitably boring that wouldn\u2019t arouse suspicion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe budget was massive, around \u00a31million. Hiring out the shopping centre alone would have cost several hundreds of thousands of pounds, even if it is tired.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, it was decorated and dressed up to look Christmassy. It has a nostalgic feel, like Love Actually meets a John Lewis advert.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor was also believed to have shot scenes at a studio in West London and a house in the outskirts of the capital.<\/p>\n My friends don\u2019t rat. They know about my life, they know what\u2019s going on with me, but they do not snitch<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tTaylor Swift\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The footage is now in post-production, with editing set to be finished in the coming weeks so the video can drop before Christmas.<\/p>\n The insider added: \u201cIt\u2019s all come together fairly last-minute and a plan was only devised about three weeks ago. Opalite will have a December release and Taylor is on course for a Christmas number one.\u201d<\/p>\n But, you might ask, why would a megastar rumoured to be worth \u00a31.5billion, with a super-glam lifestyle, come all the way to the UK in rainy November to film in a handful of drab locations?<\/p>\n According to whispers on set, Taylor bonded with her fellow guests on The Graham Norton Show last month, when she was in the UK promoting her album launch, and invited them to appear in her next video.<\/p>\n Scots singer Lewis Capaldi and Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson, who were both on the chat show with her, are claimed to have been involved in filming.<\/p>\n She is also thought to have enlisted production firm Merman to create the cinematic music video. It was co-founded by Domhnall\u2019s actress pal Sharon Horgan<\/a>.<\/p>\n People believed to be extras in Taylor\u2019s shootCredit: Click News and Media<\/p>\n Taylor\u2019s hush-hush in-and-out journey<\/p>\n An on-set source revealed: \u201cIt\u2019s a bizarre scenario, but it does explain why Taylor bothered to hire a private jet, at huge expense, all the way to England.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, the cameo appearances have been kept hush-hush.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Domhnall is rumoured to be playing Taylor\u2019s love interest in the video. They are childhood sweethearts who meet again years later.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor\u2019s song Opalite is believed to be about her fiance, US football player Travis Kelce, whose birthstone is opal.<\/p>\n She has said of the tune: \u201cWhen we were writing to this really, like, infectious hooky track, opalite is a manmade opal, so I\u2019ve always loved opals, my mom has always loved opals, kind of like our thing, one of our many things.\u201d<\/p>\n Just the sheer number of men \u2009.\u2009.\u2009. \u2009who have threatened to either kill me, kidnap me, or marry me.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tTaylor Swift\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Taylor is believed to have wrapped filming on Friday and has already flown home to Tennessee. But she is no stranger to going under the radar in the UK.<\/p>\n Before finding love with Travis, she lived here with her ex, actor Joe Alwyn<\/a>. The couple, who dated for six years before their split in 2023, kept their relationship private.<\/p>\n Discussing how she maintains such a low profile, Taylor has revealed: \u201cMy friends don\u2019t rat.<\/p>\n \u201cThey know about my life, they know what\u2019s going on with me, but they do not snitch.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor with fiance Travis Kelce in JanuaryCredit: Getty<\/p>\n From left to right: Taylor Swift, Cillian Murphy, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, Domhnall Gleeson and Lewis Capaldi with show host Graham NortonCredit: PA<\/p>\n In her 2020 documentary, Miss Americana, Taylor famously admitted that high-profile celebrity spats and criticism forced her into hiding for a year.<\/p>\n She has been the target of numerous alleged stalkers and has to travel with tight security.<\/p>\n In September, a judge granted the star a five-year restraining order against Brian Jason Wagner, who she alleged repeatedly showed up at her home in LA.<\/p>\n Talking about her security in the past, Taylor has said: \u201cI fought the idea of having security for a very long time, because I really value normalcy. I like to be able to take a drive by myself.<\/p>\n \u201cHaven\u2019t done that in six years. Because just the sheer number of men \u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009who have threatened to either kill me, kidnap me, or marry me.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the strange and sad part of my life that I try not to think about.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t CHILLING TWIST<\/p>\n Teen suspect was ‘drinking on cruise before step-sister cheerleader’s death’<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763894830_175_JA_Kepner_Suspect_COMP.jpg\"\/)
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