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CREATIVE SECTOR VIEW
By Ged Henderson
SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE
Lights, camera, action! Lancashire’s star is shining brightly in the film and TV world.
The county is becoming increasingly popular as a filming location, with all the economic benefits that come from being in front of the camera.
The Netflix biopic of Burnley businessman Dave Fishwick has seen film crews at work in and around the town in recent weeks.
Clitheroe and the surrounding Ribble Valley countryside have also been selected as the location for a new film based on the music of Take That.
They join a list of TV credits that include BBC’s hit Peaky Blinders, which filmed some of its scenes in east Lancashire and the Ribble Valley; ITV’s hit cop show The Bay, shot in and around Morecambe, and Netflix crime drama Stay Close, which was also filmed in the resort and down the coast in Blackpool.
Hit Sky comedy series Brassic, starring Michelle Keegan and Joe Gilgun, is based in the east of the county, with regular location filming in Tockholes, Bacup and Accrington over the last few years. The image above shows some of that filming in action.
It has been calculated that when a production like Brassic goes on location it spends in the region of £20,000 a day – money that goes into the local economy.
Then there is the impact a hit TV show or film can have on the visitor economy. The Bay has helped showcase the area, its natural beauty and its attractions.
The TV production industry is worth a staggering £5.4bn across the UK and employs hundreds of thousands of people. It is big business and has been boosted by the growth of ‘high-end TV’ and streaming services demanding movie quality shows such as Bridgerton.
Location managers
have a job to do, and they know that they can get good stuff
The Take That film, called Greatest Days, will be shot at numerous locations across Clitheroe and the surrounding countryside, with a big song and dance number at the castle.
Jonny Shelton, production liaison manager for Creative England, is in no doubt the film will introduce Clitheroe’s charm to a global audience.
His role is to help production companies find locations and he says: “The UK’s screen industries have bounced back faster than any other industry post-pandemic and we are seeing a truly unprecedented demand for content.
“This content boom is providing unsurpassed opportunity and the English regions are at the forefront of it. It is our aim as the national screen agency to maximise and support the production of feature film and high-end TV in the regions to ensure the economic benefits are felt across the UK.”
Jonny believes Lancashire is well placed to benefit from this content boom and the growth of high-end TV.
He says the fact the county is close to Manchester and Liverpool, which are major production centres, is a big plus when it comes to location shooting.
So too is its diversity. Jonny says: “It can offer coastlines, good rural locations, manageable cities and a range of towns with period architecture. There’s also good support from its local authorities.”
Across the Pennines, Yorkshire has raised its global profile through TV and films and has seen major inward investment from the sector.
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