Alice's musings on the estate agents name Rush & Butcher was inspired by the writer noticing a legal firm called Marsh & Parsons which he thought sounded like Martian Parsons.
Alice's minimalist flat was inspired by writer David Renwick's wife's flat in Hove, which is part of Brighton, where Alice lives. The interior is filmed in St John's Wood, but the exterior (Furze Court) was the block of flats where Renwick's wife actually lived before they married, and who also commuted to work in London. Renwick said that Alice was loosely based on his wife Ellie, which in turn sounds similar to Allie (Alice's nickname from her colleagues).
David Renwick based Gil using Hendon crematorium as a toilet-stop on having to use Mortlake crematorium himself for the same reason.
The theatre Gil and Gina go to is The Pleasance in Camden.
Canteen scene with Alice, Millie and Chloe was shot in the BBC canteen.