What are the major film and TV facilities around the UK?

While many international producers are familiar with studio facilities across London and the south east of England, the nations and regions have much to offer in terms of filming opportunities.

Adrian Wootton, chief executive of the British Film Commission (BFC) points out there are many compelling reasons for looking to the UK’s other major production hubs, including “competitive cost base, fantastic facilities and locations, and additional top-up funding on top of the UK-wide fiscal credits”.

As part of its Stage Space Support & Development (SSSD) strategy, the BFC is backing further growth outside of the south-east, with another 800,000 sq.ft of space expected at sites including Digbeth Loc in Birmingham, which will play host to two upcoming Peaky Blinders series produced by Kudos and Garrison Drama for BBc/Netflix, and the new Stirling Studios in Scotland.

“The BFC is 100% committed to promoting studios and stage space in all the UK’s production hubs,” says Wootton. “Through our proactive monthly availability updates, bespoke responses to client enquiries, and, of course, our hugely impactful UK-wide familiarisation trips for clients, the BFC works hand in glove with our partners in the nations and regions to ensure the benefits and opportunities are fully promoted and understood.”

South-west England

“Bristol has remained incredibly strong for production,” says Katherine Nash, head of studios at The Bottle Yard Studios, which is owned and managed by Bristol City Council. “A large part of that is that we have a resilient business model. We have two sites that offer different budgets, and we prioritise three core principles: studios, sustainability and skills.”

Productions to have taken advantage of all The Bottle Yard Studios has to offer include Pulse Films thriller Bad Apples starring Saoirse Ronan and new Netflix Agatha Christie thriller The Seven Dials Mystery.

Also based in Bristol is SG Capital Partners-backed Patchway Studios, which was recently utilised by Paramount’s crime thriller The Crow Girl and the BBC’s Good Girl’s Guide To Murder.  It recently transformed the original 44,000 sq ft stage into two purpose-built 20,000 sq ft stages, expanded the production office space and introduced new facilities including dedicated prop stores, workshops, and costume fabrication.

North-west England

In Liverpool City Centre, The Depot was launched in 2021 as part of a concerted drive to attract more production to the north west. “[The Depot] has had a really positive impact on the growth of the supply chain,” says Kevin Bell, operations and liaison manager at Liverpool Film Office. The facility, which has won awards for its commitment to carbon reduction and sustainability, hosted The Gathering, originally released on Channel 4 but now attracting audiences on Netflix, and the second season of BBC drama This City Is Ours.

Space Studios Manchester wrapped Netflix’s House Of Guinness at the beginning of the year, along with AMC’s Talamasca, which is part of the Anne Rice Universe. The site has also welcomed back the second series of Channel 4’s Daddy Issues and Finding Emily for Working Title.

“Looking ahead our enquiry sheet is looking much healthier as we approach the end of the year and going into next,” comments Space Studios Manchester’s stage manager Dean Sinacola. “It does seem like things are getting the green light and long-paused projects are getting off the ground.”

Elsewhere in the region, Tatton Studios in Cheshire has hosted the likes of Netflix/BBC’s Peaky Blinders and Sky drama Wolfe within its 5000 acres of available space; it is also a convenient base for the area’s spectacular stately homes, cottages, woodland and villages.

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is currently riding high on the success of Emmy award-winning Netflix drama Adolescence, which shot at the Production Park studio complex near Wakefield.

“We’ve been delighted at its global success,” says Jim Farmery, external affairs director at Production Park, which has recently been chosen by The Voice UK as its base for recording its final stages. “[The Voice UK] is one of the UK’s biggest shows and we’re proud that it will be happening here in Yorkshire.”

In South Yorkshire, Peregrine Studios has housed the production of acclaimed features like Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (20th Century Fox/Warp Films) and Official Secrets (Entertainment One).

Church Fenton Studios, to the east of Leeds, which last year hosted Air TV’s Masters Of Reinvention and previously Masterpiece/ITV’s Victoria, is also set for further expansion through the Create Yorkshire development. “Having purpose-built, state-of-the-art studio space alongside our existing facilities will transform what we can offer to the film and television industry.”

In Leeds city centre, the four-stage Versa Leeds Studios – part of the Versa UK network of TV and film production facilities – has hosted Netflix crime series Bodies and Woman Of Substance (Forge Entertainment/Channel 4).

Versa Studios managing director Ben Hepworth also runs Prime Studios in Leeds, which has accommodated features including The Duke (Pathe UK) and Hope Gap (Immersiverse). And while productions shooting in the region may be able to access extra funding through Screen Yorkshire, Hepworth says that the facilities, infrastructure and locations are also a big draw.

“It’s about getting people to know there is a lot more to the North, there is a lot going on,” says Hepworth. “And what we do have in Yorkshire are some of the best locations in the world!”

Wales

Located in Cardiff and spanning 255,000 square feet, Wolf Studios Wales continues to host major projects including The Other Bennet Sister (Britbox/BBC), Industry (HBO/BBC) and The War Between The Land And The Sea (Disney+/BBC). Next year also looks busy for the studio, which has been awarded a Bafta Albert Studio Standard Excellent rating for sustainability, as five of its seven stages are reserved for forthcoming productions.

Fellow Cardiff facility Great Point Studios has had a busy year housing productions including Amazon’s Young Sherlock. “We look forward to a busy 2026, which will include the start of our studio expansion programme,” notes Gerwyn Evans, head of studios.

In Anglesey, Aria Studios hosted Ronan Day-Lewis’s Anemone, marking the return to the screen for the director’s Oscar-winning actor father, Daniel Day-Lewis. Studio executive Iddon Jones highlights “the breathtaking landscapes of North Wales” as being a major attraction for productions like this.

Other Welsh facilities include Cardiff’s Roath Lock Studios, home to the BBC’s long-running medical series Casualty; Dragon Studios, west of Cardiff, which hosted BBC thriller The Guest, and Bay Studios in Swansea.

Scotland

Launched by Bob Last and Jason Connery in 2020, the Edinburgh-based FirstStage Studios reports very robust business, having hosted Netflix thriller Dept Q (which is returning for a second season), Saoirse Ronan feature The Outrun (Brock Media/Arcade Pictures) and Amazon’s North Sea oil drama The Rig.

In the town of Bathgate, west of Edinburgh, is Pyramids Studios, a sizeable facility which has hosted Outlander: Blood Of My Blood (Sony/Starz), Amazon’s Good Omens season two and finale and Danny Boyle’s sequel T2: Trainspotting.

BBC StudioWorks launched three years ago in Glasgow’s venerated Kevin Hall, and has since hosted productions including HBO’s Half Man.

Other facilities north of the border include Wardpark in Cumbernauld, home to all eight previous series of Outlander, and Nightsky Studios in Coatbridge, a dedicated virtual production studio utilised by Netflix’s Black Mirror Season 7.

Northern Ireland

A major development in Northern Ireland has been the launch of pioneering £72m virtual production facility Studio Ulster, as part of the Belfast Harbour Complex. “We are the most advanced virtual production facility in the world at the moment,” claims Alyssa Boyle, head of commercial operations. “Studio Ulster has three large-scale virtual production stages as well as motion capture suites, scanners, editing suites and screening rooms. 

“It is designed to be scaleable,” notes Andrew Reid, chief content officer at Northern Ireland Screen “It is not just for the big shows. We have a couple of independent films going in there,” Projects already hosted include upcoming BBC documentary Titanic Sinks Tonight.

Belfast Harbour was last year home to Universal’s live action How To Train Your Dragon, while the city’s Titanic Studios has a long-standing relationship with HBO and is hosting the latest Game Of Thrones spin-off Night Of The Seven Kingdoms. Belfast has also recently played host to UK TV dramas including Ellis (Company Pictures), Blue Lights (Two Cities Television) and In Flight (Fremantle),

Other Northern Ireland facilities include Loop Studios in Belfast and Silverwood Business Park in Ballymena.