Liverpool enjoys record filming year
The Liverpool Film Office recorded its busiest ever year in 2017 with 289 film and TV projects filmed in the city.
In total, 1,359 filming days generated a £11.1m boost to the local economy and, overall, projects stayed longer on location in the area than in previous years.
The film office also noted an increase in productions destined for online channels.
Projects included the BAFTA-nominated Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool that shot around Rundle Road in Aigburth, as well as using Princes Street to double as New York.
The fourth series of Peaky Blinders used Crosby Beach as one of several Merseyside locations and Liverpool Women’s Hospital welcomed back Channel 4 documentary One Born Every Minute for its tenth series.
Broken, starring Sean Bean and Anna Friel, filmed in Admiral Street and in various locations in Sefton. And BBC Two’s A House Through Time focused on 62 Falkner Street with crews filming in and around the city for five months.
Other high-profile projects to utilise Liverpool locations last year included the biopic Tolkien starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins, and Bulletproof with Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters for Sky 1.
Sarada McDermott, Tolkien co-producer, said: “Liverpool was the perfect location to film key scenes for our production. The area around St George’s Hall provided us with the period shots we needed and the space allowed us to create a brand new set to meet our needs. The team at the film office was fantastic and I’d have no hesitation in returning to the city again to film.”
The yet-to-air four-part drama The City and The City for BBC Two also filmed in Liverpool in 2017 along with established programmes including Songs of Praise, Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor, The Real Housewives of Cheshire, The One Show, the Worst Witch series, Extreme Cake Makers and The Voice.
Film office manager Lynn Saunders said: “We are delighted that Liverpool remains such a pivotal player in the film industry and we are committed to putting plans in place to ensure production levels remain buoyant.
“A huge amount of work goes into attracting production companies to Merseyside and then working with them in the run up to, during and post filming to make sure all aspects run as smoothly as possible and they have a positive experience of the city.
“[Liverpool is] never a city to rest on its laurels – we are developing a five-year, city-and-region-wide plan to see how we can make the most of the sector and how we can maintain and improve investment levels and the number of jobs created as a result of production companies heading to the area.
“Plans for our own film studios are developing, which means we’ll be able to meet the demand for film and production facilities, which we simply cannot meet at the moment due to capacity issues.
“It’s an exciting time for the city region and I look forward to another busy year for the team.”
Forthcoming productions lined up to film in Liverpool this year include Mammoth Screen’s The War of the Worlds.
Liverpool Town Hall photo via Liverpool Echo.
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