The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is to invest £750,000 to support the TV and animation sector, it has been announced. The investment is hoped to boost jobs, support home grown talent and attract high-end productions to the capital.

The news comes after the new tax relief for high end TV and animation came into effect last week.

During a visit to Ealing Studios, home to Downton Abbey, the Mayor said: “We are at the dawn of a new golden age of TV production in London. We have an unprecedented opportunity to grow this exciting sector to deliver jobs, produce more world class British drama and, above all, make London the city of choice for TV and animation production. It”s time for London to fulfil its potential as the world leader and employer it”s destined to be in this field. Let”s make sure that all future Downtons are filmed on our turf”.

Newly appointed BBC Director General Tony Hall, said: “These are certainly exciting times for television production. The BBC is already a huge supporter of talent in the UK, with Sherlock and Silk shortly due to begin shooting in London. The capital is already one of the most TV-friendly cities in the world and we look forward to continuing to play our part in this vital part of the British broadcasting ecology.”