1 week Ago By [email protected] (Jamie Greer)
Mike Walker was not expecting to see it on the show A man was stunned when he saw a place he recognised on a hit BBC show. Mike Walker, 47, from Gayton in Heswall , was watching This City Is Ours last week with his wife Lesley. The critically acclaimed drama was filmed across Liverpool and Merseyside and stars several Scouse actors.
It follows the story of Michael Kavanagh, played by James Nelson-Joyce. Michael is an organised crime gang led by Ronnie Phealan, played by Sean Bean. As Michael begins to plan his future with his partner Diana Williams (Hannah Onslow), a power struggle ensues between Michael and Ronnie’s son Jamie (Jack McMullen).
Over the course of the series, the Phealan’s luxurious family home with a stylish garden becomes a prominent setting as the various characters discuss their futures. But while he was watching these scenes play out, Mike noticed something. Mike told the ECHO: “Me and my wife were watching it on BBC iPlayer.
I think it’s episode four when it first makes an appearance. We were really into it. When I saw the garden I said to my wife, I recognise the garden, it looks like one I have worked on.
“Then I saw the steps and said, that’s one of my designs, I did it years ago. My wife thought I was messing her around. Then I showed the garden on my website and she believed me.
” Mike runs Native Landscape Design and works closely with Matthew Stevenson, who runs Bespoke Outdoor Spaces. The house in This City Is Ours is filmed as though it is located in Liverpool or Knowsley , with the family accessing the house via the turn-off for Knotty Ash and Huyton on the M62, just before The Rocket. However, Mike says the garden is actually part of a property in Caldy in Wirral.
Mike started his UK firm during a difficult time economically after working in several architecture and design roles in Australia. He said: “That was in 2012. I think we were still in a bit of a rescission then.
“There weren't a lot of jobs around anyway, especially in my field. I didn’t really see it as a risk - I thought, if you don’t give it a try, then you don’t find out. I had nothing to lose really.
” It wasn’t easy at first for Mike to get noticed. He said: “The biggest thing for any company starting there is trying to get a name for yourself. “I did business networking which helped.
I got quite a lot of work through that. Then I designed my own website and managed to work on the search engine optimisation to get it at the top of Google.” Mike recently celebrated with Matthew as they won a national award at the 2025 APL awards, which recognises landscape gardening, for a garden they had worked on together.
He said: “It was one I designed and Matthew built. That was unexpected. We weren't expecting to win anything and we came away with gold and a best in category for hard landscaping.
” Having his work featured on This City Is Ours marks an important for his business which he started ten years ago. He said: “I feel proud. I’ve got a lot of work through word of mouth so people are obviously recommending me.
It feels like a real achievement.”.
