Blog

December 19, 2022

By Chloe Roden

It has been a busy year for the film and TV industry, with both domestic and international production booming across England. The Filming in England team have had an exciting year supporting some outstanding productions, running networking nights across the country, delivering informative events – and much, much more!

Join us as we reflect on highlights from this year and look forward to the next one.

Chloe

The BBC thriller Chloe was one of many high-end TV series to film in the South West of England this year. Produced by Mam Tor Productions, the six-part series was set and filmed in Bristol and the wider South West area and we released a blog spotlight on Chloe, where we explored its locations and behind-the-scenes journey.

Read Filming on Location in the South West with BBC Drama Chloe. 

Creative Coalition Festival

The third instalment of Creative UK’s Creative Coalition Festival took place on 1^st – 3^rd February.

In the panel session ‘The Call for Crew’ our Head of Production Services, Hayley Armstrong, was joined by representatives from the BFI, Screen Skills, Channel 4 and The Production Guild of Great Britain, where they discussed the current crewing crisis and its wider impact on the industry. What’s more, on the final evening of the festival, we delivered a new spin on the traditional crew networking night with an Ultimate Film & TV Quiz, run by quizmaster Gary Lunt of Reel Tours.  

Creative Coalition Festival returns next year from 1^st – 3^rd March, register for free here.

Peaky Blinders Series 6

On Sunday 27th February 2022, the sixth and final series of the iconic Peaky Blinders was released. Having supported all previous series, our Production Liaison Manager for the North and Midlands, Jonny Shelton, celebrated the final series by writing a blog exploring the unique locations it shot in and hearing from some of the people and organisations who brought it to the screen.

Read Where did Peaky Blinders Series 6 shoot? to discover more.

Filming in England Summit

We were delighted to run our virtual Filming in England Summit on 15th June this year! Aimed specifically at our Local Authority Partners, the sessions covered a range of subjects such as screen tourism, student filmmaking and the local economic impact of filming.

Amongst a range of incredible speakers, we were joined by leading consultants for the global screen sector, Olsberg SPI. Here, they discussed their ongoing project with Creative England, the upcoming Local Economic Impact of Filming Toolkit – and outlined the processes of their research into the Ripple Effect, which looks to lay out and visualise how production delivers economic benefits to a local economy.

The Essex Serpent

The on-screen adaptation of Samantha Perry’s bestselling novel The Essex Serpent was released in May. Filmed against the landscape of Essex itself, the TV adaptation saw cast and crew set up on the coastline and marshes of Essex, making for a truly unique setting and ambitious production journey.

Read our blog Apple TV’s The Essex Serpent: Shooting on the Extraordinary Essex Coastline to hear fascinating insights from Location Manager on The Essex Serpent, Harriet Lawrence. 

Studio and Build Space Directory Launch

In June, we launched our brand-new Studio and Build Space Directory. With an all-new look and functionality, the directory gathered the full breadth of studios and build spaces facilitating high-end TV and feature film across England, outside of London. It connects productions with the perfect facility for their needs – whether by stage size, features, sustainable practices, or more.

You can explore the directory on the Studios and Build Space button above, or click here.

Networking Nights

We were delighted to return to running in-person networking nights this year. Our Crew and Facilities team have been busy organising a number of informative and fun crew nights which have spanned across the English regions – we’ve visited the New Forest, Nottingham, Manchester and Bournemouth.

We’re already busy planning some exciting crew nights for next year, watch this space!

New Filming in England Showreel

With the diverse range of high-end TV series and feature films supported by our team growing day-by-day, we were excited to release a brand new showreel this year, showcasing the phenomenal productions that have made use of England.

Visit our website homepage or click here to view our showreel and celebrate the outstanding talent, locations, and studio space on offer across England.

Andor

To celebrate the finale of Star Wars spin-off Andor, we released an exclusive location spotlight. From the seaside town of Blackpool to Surrey and the unique landscape of the Peak District, Andor filmed in some fantastic spots across England and we are proud to have supported it whilst it was in production.

Read Andor: Creating Worlds Across the English Regions for exclusive insights into how the incredible series filmed in England.

Regional Filming Hubs

We launched our Regional Filming Hubs in late November this year. With hubs in the East & South East, Midlands, North and South West, these new meetings bring together important stakeholders with a shared vision to strengthen England’s Film-friendly production environment. As the next important step in the Filming in England Partnership, we are delighted to have held such promising starting sessions and thank everyone involved for their valuable input.

Read more about our Regional Filming Hubs here.

FOCUS

As usual, we rounded up our year by exhibiting at FOCUS at the Business Design Centre in London. Joined by 13 of our Film Office Partners, this year’s exhibition was busier than ever, and we enjoyed connecting with industry professionals from all around the world and championing everything England has to offer. We’re already looking forward to returning next year!