Spotting the familiar on film and television is strangely exciting and appealing.

Even though I knew the interior scenes of No 10 Downing Street for the television sitcom, My Dad’s The Prime Minister, were shot at Micklefield Hall in Sarratt, it was still a surprise and fun to see familiarities in the rooms, which had been adapted to play the part.

I rather liked the black and white “pretend” tiles in the hallway and was quite disappointed to see them disappear along with the film crew at the end of the shoot.

Leaving the place as you found it, is an important part of the deal struck between film-makers and the owners of the favoured locations, but Little Dorrit, the Dickensian saga due to unfold over 14 weeks, starting on Sunday, has left a permanent mark on Chenies Manor.

Or rather, it has removed a “mark” the white shutters, which used to adorn the windows facing the Tudor gardens.

With the owner Elizabeth MacLeod Matthews’ consent, the shutters were removed back in April for filming early scenes before the film crew disappeared to other locations and Pinewood studios. By the time the last scenes at Chenies were shot in August, everyone agreed, it suited the house to leave off the shutters.

The rather splendid gazebo, you may already have seen in the trailers, has also become a permanent feature - and the once blue Stone Parlour has turned a kind of golden yellow.

In the scheme of things - 14 episodes - glimpses of Chenies Manor and gardens may be few and far between, but I have made a Sunday appointment with the sofa just for the fun of spotting the familiar, with a horse-drawn carriage going up the drive at Chenies - oh, and West Wycombe turned into a Venetian Palace.

The sofa is rather comfortable, so I just hope Little Dorrit can keep me awake. I don’t have a good track record with costume dramas.