Lights, Camera…. Location

I shall not go into a full dissertation about the how and why there is so much freakin awesome TV and VOD 'binge friendly' content in the pipeline, but instead, I'll serve you up a nice little anecdote as to the impact this is having on the UK as a thriving production hub.

So, every corner of the UK seems to be getting their share of the limelight, through film and TV productions setting up home there. London will, most likely, always be the Production Capital of the UK, but the likes of Manchester (a very close 2nd), Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff and Glasgow (to name a few) are growing so rapidly that London will be nervously looking over its shoulder.

The newest corner of the UK to boast high profile productions as residents is Suffolk. A 3rd series of BAFTA award winning BBC Four comedy, The Detectorists, has always found home in the county's farming fields, but the success of ITV's latest primetime drama offering, Fearless, starring Helen McCrory, has raised Suffolk's profile even further. The deep South West of England, arguably offers the best weather the country has to offer and therefore, the most amount of filmable hours for the production crew. BBC daytime drama, The Coroner, has two successful series under its belt there, but the (sun) shining glory of the SW was, by far, Broadchurch.

Heading north, I can't go without mentioning my favourite TV hit of recent times, the pulsating BBC One drama by Sally Wainwright, Happy Valley. The series, which sadly won't be returning for a 3rd outing, (WHY NOT?) was set and filmed across a number of small towns and villages in the Calder Valley, in West Yorkshire. The show won big in awards here, and as a result, found its 2nd home on VOD powerhouse, Netflix, in the US, putting Yorkshire very much on the global content map.

As the content market becomes more synced and more global, the more significant and meaningful the role that the setting plays. Sitting down and losing yourself in your favourite TV show can be the ultimate act of escapism, whether that be in the sun kissed ITV2 reality series of Love Island, set on the beautiful island of Mallorca, or in the thrilling BBC crime drama, In the Dark, set in Manchester's dark criminal underbelly.

Below, we've listed a few new or returning shows that'll give you the best chance to escape to another corner of the UK…. Can you name where they were filmed? We’ve thrown in a couple of period pieces, too. Fun!

NEW

The State - C4 - August 20th

Four-part series draws on extensive factual research to create a gripping and unflinching dramatic insight into the harsh reality of life for those who join ISIS.

Ill Behaviour - BBC Two - August 20th

Comedy thriller about three friends who embark on a journey that takes them to the extremes of their friendship, crossing every boundary imaginable to save a life.

Strike - BBC One - August 27th

Cormoran Strike, a war veteran turned private detective operating out of a tiny office in London's Denmark Street, is wounded both physically and psychologically. His unique insight and his background as a Special Investigation Branch Investigator prove crucial in solving three complex cases, which have eluded the police.

Sick Note - Sky Atlantic - Coming Soon

A laugh-out-loud story of Daniel Glass (Grint), a compulsive liar who is stuck in a failing relationship and a dead-end job in which he is under the thumb of his irrepressible boss Kenny West.

RETURNING

The Crown S2 - Netflix - Dec 8th

This drama follows the political rivalries and romance of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped the second half of the 20th century.

Cold Feet S7 - ITV - Coming Soon

The seventh series of Cold Feet will see us pick up 10 months on from the last series finale, which saw Adam Williams finally confess his feelings for landlady Tina Reynolds at his fake 50th birthday party.

Victoria S2 – ITV - Coming Soon

This eight-part drama features an all-star cast including Jenna Coleman as a young Queen Victoria and Tom Hughes as Prince Albert. The monarch's life is chronicled as the story begins with the death of King William IV in 1837, her accession to the throne at the tender age of 18 and her relationships with the influential forces around her. 

Oh, and even though it didn't film here in the UK, it's probably worth mentioning, because everyone loves it, that the second series of Stranger Things will be gracing your Netflix binging worlds, once again, on the 27th October.

View Responsibly.

Oh and if you couldn't guess, hear are the locations for said TV shows:

• Ill Behaviour - In and around the Bristol area. A nod to the capital of the South West.
• The State - Spain hosted a lot of the exterior scenes and some interiors back here in the UK.
• Strike - Mainly London, with other locations here and there including, Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria.
• Sick Note - All around London
• Cold Feet - Manchester and surrounding areas + The Space Project studio in Manchester
• The Crown - Multiple locations across the UK, ranging from a Cambridgeshire cathedral to a clifftop castle in Aberdeenshire.
• Victoria - The bulk of filming took place in Yorkshire. The interiors of Castle Howard doubled up as Kensington Palace and Harewood House stood in for Buckingham Palace