Located in the county of Yorkshire, Leeds is a fast-growing cultural and economic hub. In recent years, it’s also gained notoriety for its stronghold over the film and TV industries of the North – it's iconic cityscape and countryside views can be seen in several successful TV shows and movies, such as Happy Valley, Peaky Blinders and Bank of Dave.
Want to learn more about Leeds’ film and TV industries? Below, we delve into where you might have seen Leeds on TV, the leading production studios and film locations in Leeds, and which major labels have used the city as a base to create global productions.
Leeds Film and TV Industries
In 2002, the UK Film Council established Screen Yorkshire in Leeds as one of nine regional screen agencies across the country. It manages the Yorkshire Content Fund, responsible for funding productions with film locations in Leeds and the wider region. Since then, the agency has helped fund over 50 TV shows and movies, and Leeds’s influence over the wider industry has blossomed.
According to the agency, the region’s screen industries generate over £1 billion for the local economy and employ over 12,000 people. Between 2015-2018 alone, industry employment in Yorkshire more than tripled and the quantity of film and TV businesses active in the region rose by 27%.
In 2020, Screen Yorkshire founded a Crewing Service which connects local crew talent to incoming production teams that need their skills. With dedicated industry support based in the city centre, it’s easy to see the impact of Leeds on TV and film industries in the region.
Leeds Behind the Scenes
As a media industry hub, Leeds and its surrounding areas contain several renowned production offices and film studios. This attracts major production companies to the area and sets the stage for global TV shows and movies to be brought to life.
In the heart of the city centre, Prime Studios Leeds houses production offices, studio facilities and even has its own costume store. The studio housed label Mammoth Screen as it shot the BBC’s The ABC Murders – studio spaces were transformed into period sets for this Agatha Christie remake, and the cast of The ABC Murders included John Malkovich and Rupert Grint.
Just outside of Leeds, TV series and movies are frequently in production at Church Fenton – a former RAF base turned production lot. It has multiple production stages, workshops, offices, and one of the largest backlots in the UK. Victoria, ITV’s popular period drama, shot scenes at Church Fenton with stages constructed to match Buckingham Palace interior.
A little further afield, Peregrine Studios in South Yorkshire is the largest single stage studio in the North. With over 200,000 sq. ft to film in, it has shot feature films like Everyone’s Talking about Jamie, Hope Gap and Official Secrets. The star-studded cast of Official Secrets included Kiera Knightley, Matt Smith, and Ralph Fiennes.
Leeds on Screen
With so many production labels establishing a base in the area, it should come as no surprise that the city gets its own feature in many hit TV shows and movies. Let’s break down where you might have seen Leeds on TV.
Peaky Blinders
Crime drama Peaky Blinders first aired on the BBC in 2013 and quickly became one of the most watched TV shows in the world, running for six seasons to date. The plot of Peaky Blinders follows the infamous Shelby family as they rise to power and navigate the dangerous underworld of gangs and politics in post-World War I Birmingham. The cast of Peaky Blinders included Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory and Tom Hardy.
Before it gained worldwide recognition, Screen Yorkshire funded the production of its first season using its Yorkshire Content Fund. As a result, Tiger Aspect Productions primarily used film locations in Leeds, and the now-closed Studio 81 was established as a base for crew and filming.
Executive Producer, Frith Tiplady, said their decision to film in Leeds was ‘a combination of fantastic period locations, great crew and support from Screen Yorkshire and the local council. Most of our filming was in Leeds and supplemented by shooting a couple of key locations in Liverpool and Birmingham.’
Wondering where Peaky Blinders was filmed in the city? Film locations in Leeds included the City Varieties Music Hall, Leeds Town Hall, St Chad’s Church and Braimes Pressings.
Happy Valley
Happy Valley is another popular BBC crime drama and its third season was produced by London label, Lookout Point. The plot of Happy Valley follows police sergeant Catherine Cawood and her team as they investigate serious crimes in the aftermath of their own personal tragedy. The cast of Happy Valley includes Sarah Lancashire, Siobhan Finneran and James Norton. Happy Valley is set in West Yorkshire, so it’s no wonder Leeds makes a cameo or two of its own on the show.
Wondering where you’ve seen Leeds on TV show, Happy Valley? Season three production included film locations in Leeds city centre, the city’s railway station and the Kirkgate Market.
The Witcher
Based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s book series of the same name, The Witcher is a TV adaptation produced for Netflix. A fantasy epic, the plot of The Witcher follows Geralt of Rivia as he uses his supernatural abilities to hunt monsters. The cast of The Witcher includes Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan.
Filming for season one took place globally, and included locations like Hungary, Poland and the Canary Islands. However, season two production took place during the pandemic so covid restrictions limited filming to the UK. The crew used Screen Yorkshire’s film office for location scouting, and film locations in Leeds’s wider region were selected. This included heritage sites like Plumpton Rocks, Fountains Abbey and Malham Cove which were apt additions to the show’s ethereal landscape.
Bank of Dave
One movie Leeds makes a starring appearance in is Bank of Dave. The plot of Bank of Dave follows Burnley local, Dave Fishwick, as he sets up a bank for his local community in the midst of a national financial crisis. The Bank of Dave cast includes Joel Fry, Phoebe Dynevor, Hugh Bonneville and Rory Kinnear.
The team from Tempo Productions, the label in charge of the film, were based in Prime Studio Leeds during filming. Leeds filming locations for Bank of Dave included Park Square, The Duck and Drake Pub, Bond Court, Wellington Street, and more.
Better
Better is a TV series set in Leeds, which many believe to be the next Happy Valley. It aired in February this year and is a gripping crime thriller. The plot of Better follows DI Lou Slack and dealer Col McHugh, as the two grapple with their shared past and want for a better future. The cast of Better includes Leila Farzad, Andrew Buchan, and Anton Lesser.
The majority of film locations were in Leeds for this West Yorkshire drama. This included iconic spots like Bond Court, the Corn Exchange, the Queen’s Hotel and Sheesh Mahal.
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Wondering what else you can do during your trip to Leeds? Check out our blogs on the 6 Best Restaurants in Leeds and 8 fun things to see and do in the city.
