Among the supporting roles, one of the highest-profile pieces of casting was Malcolm McDowell as Soho porn baron Benny Barrett. Barrett appears in scenes across various episodes from "1966" through to "1979", but the production could only afford him for three weeks. This was because McDowell was then a resident in the United States. All of McDowell's scenes were therefore shot by Stuart Urban as part of the first block of filming, as opposed to the rest of the production which was filmed roughly chronologically. This was considered more than worthwhile, however, for the prestige of being able to use an actor such as McDowell, predominantly a film actor who seldom did television work.