Construction of the Honey Lane exterior set began in November 1966 at Elstree Studios. It cost ATV £20,000 and required market detritus to be specially brought in.
The inspiration for the series is said to be Berwick Street Market, located in the Soho district of the City of Westminster.
During the filming of a scene of an explosion in September 1968, part of the set caught fire; actors there said their reactions were not acting.
Honey Lane was located in the fictional London postal district WC3, adjacent to Cherry Street and with traders' lock-ups for their barrows and wares in Apple Yard. Businesses on Honey Lane included The Duchess of Verona pub (occasionally referred to as the Special Licence as it held one, enabling it to open outside of the daytime closing times enforced at the time), the Forum Theatre (with the Forum Cafe opposite it), The Kiangsu Chinese Restaurant, The Last Resort members-only club, Mark Louis turf accountant's licensed betting office (a tip of the hat to series creator Louis Marks), a gents' barbershop, a tobacconists, non-stop strip-tease club, gents' tailors, a surgical stocking manufacturers and Annie Abelson's lodging house.
Out of the original 91 episodes that were broadcast only 13 are known to exist