15 min readIn celebration of the city's status as a UNESCO City of Film, we take a look at Bristol: the TV and movie star.
Many film productions have beamed Bristol onto the big screen and as well as being a featured location, the city has often played film double and production base for many movies.
We’ve put together a roundup of Bristol locations used in major titles and famous TV productions...
Image - Eleanor Tomlinson & Stephen Merchant film The Outlaws at Sea Mills Community Centre, credit BBC, Amazon Studios, Big Talk, and Four Eyes
The Outlaws (2021 - present)
Stephen Merchant’s comic crime thriller is the first series the actor, writer and director has made in here in his home city. The story follows seven strangers from different walks of life forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence. The Outlaws series one was BBC’s biggest comedy launch of 2021 and was streamed more than 11 million times on BBC iPlayer. Series three is coming soon.
- The Visit Bristol guide to The Outlaws (series one)
Image - Christopher Walken in The Outlaws season 2 at Lloyds Ampitheatre on Bristol's Harbourside
Doctor Who (2023)
Bristol played a starring role in the iconic show’s 60th anniversary and Christmas celebrations in 2023 alongside David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Neil Patrick Harris, Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson. Doctor Who has a long-standing connection with Bristol and its surrounding areas, dating back to the 1970s when Hengrove Imperial Park and Wookey Hole Caves were featured in the classic series.
- Doctor Who filming locations in Bristol
Image: Neil Patrick Harris and David Tennant filming the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special 'The Giggle' in Bristol, credit Logan Walker
Chloe (2022)
Filmed at The Bottle Yard Studios and on location in Bristol (assisted by Bristol Film Office) and the surrounding region, the six-part drama is set in Bristol. Taking full advantage of the city’s rich cultural scene from the art to music, Chloe also features the work of artists local to the region, including an original score composed by Will Gregory (Goldfrapp) featuring Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Alison Goldfrapp.
Chloe follows Becky Green who has been watching Chloe Fairbourne via her perfect social media images for some time; Chloe’s charmed life, adoring husband and circle of high-achieving friends are always just a click away. Becky can’t resist watching a life that contrasts so starkly with her own; a life spent caring for her mother, who has early-onset dementia, in their small seaside flat on the outskirts of Bristol. When Chloe dies suddenly, Becky assumes a new identity and infiltrates the enviable lives of Chloe's closest friends to find out what happened to her.
Image - cast of Chloe, credit BBC York Tillyer
The Girl Before (2022)
Bespoke two storey sets were built at The Bottle Yard Studios for this drama’s main location, with an exterior façade built at the end of Woodland Terrace off Hampton Road in Redland. The four-part drama, adapted by British author JP Delaney from his 2016 global bestselling novel, stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Jessica Plummer and Ben Hardy. When Jane gets the chance to move into a beautiful, ultra-minimalist house designed by an enigmatic architect she starts to feel the house changing her in unexpected ways. After a shocking discovery about her predecessor, she’s forced to confront unnerving similarities and begins to question if her fate will be the same as the girl before.
The Pursuit of Love (2021)
Emily Mortimer’s adaptation of The Pursuit of Love stars Lily James, Dominic West, Emily Beecham and Andrew Scott. Set between the two world wars, the rom-com drama follows the adventures and misadventures of the charismatic and fearless Linda Radlett (played by James) and her best friend and cousin Fanny Logan (played by Beecham). The series was filmed at Bottle Yard Studios as well as locations around the city, so keep your eyes peeled for Bristol backdrops.
Image - Lily James and Emily Beecham in The Pursuit of Love, credit Theodora Films Limited & Moonage Pictures Limited, Robert Viglasky
The One (2021)
There’s more sci-fi action to come this spring with 10-part Netflix series The One. Based on the John Marr novel of the same name, it imagines the consequences of a scientific breakthrough allowing people to use DNA testing to find their ideal partner. Filming took place across Bristol in 2020 as well as in Cardiff and Newport.
Manhunt II: The Night Stalker (2021)
Martin Clunes plays former London Metropolitan Police detective DCI Colin Sutton in ITV’s true-crime drama Manhunt. The sequel follows Sutton’s pursuit of a notorious serial rapist, whose 17-year reign of terror left thousands of elderly people in south east London living in fear. Filming took place in Berkeley Square in Clifton, St Marks Road in Easton and Reedley Road in Stoke Bishop.
Alex Rider (2020 - 2024)
Based on the best-selling Alex Rider franchise by Anthony Horowitz. Otto Farrant plays the London teenager who has unknowingly been trained for the world of espionage.
Image - Otto Farant in Alex Rider, credit Sony
McDonald & Dodds (2020)
The ITV crime drama stars BAFTA-winner Jason Watkins (who also appeared in another series filmed in Bristol; 2014's The Lost Honour of Christopher Jenkins) alongside Bristol Old Vic Theatre School graduate Tala Gouveia. While the series is set in Bath, it's filmed in both cities. Spot Bristol locations such as Goldney Hall in Clifton, Wills Memorial Hall on Park Street, the Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel on College Green, and Queen Square.
Image - Jason Watkins & Tala Gouveia in McDonald & Dodds, credit ITV & Mammoth Screen
Sanditon (2019 - 2023)
The acclaimed drama based on Jane Austen’s final, unfinished novel and developed by Emmy®- and BAFTA-winning writer Andrew Davies, was filmed in Bristol at The Brabazon Hangar (the future home of YTL Arena Bristol) and across the surrounding region. Locations including Brean Beach and Middle Hope Cove in Somerset.
- Discover Sanditon (series one) filming locations in Bristol and beyond
War of the Worlds (2019)
Bristol once again stars as a London under alien invasion for series two of Fox TV’s War of the Worlds, the modern-day adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic sci-fi tale. Stars include Gabriel Byrne, Elizabeth McGovern and Daisy Edgar Jones. College Street, St George’s Street, City Hall, Orchard Street, Queen Square, the Create Centre on Spike Island, Armada House on Dove Street and Stapleton Road were all used by the production team.
Stan & Ollie (2018)
Bristol locations: Princes Wharf - Harbourside, M Shed, MV Balmoral
Starring: Steve Coogan, John C. Reilly
Comedian Steve Coogan and Guardians of the Galaxy star John C. Reilly filmed 2018's Stan & Ollie on Bristol Harbourside, which pays homage to the iconic Hollywood double act, Laurel and Hardy. During filming, the production company transformed the area outside the M Shed into an Irish dockyard for the moment when the duo arrive in Ireland. The MV Balmoral, a vintage pleasure cruiser normally moored in the Floating Harbour, was also used as part of the set.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
Bristol locations: Princes Wharf – Bristol Harbourside, M Shed
Starring: Lily James, Penelope Wilton and Matthew Goode
Set on Guernsey Island in the aftermath of World War II, this 2018 film (based on the book of the same name by Mary Ann Shaffer) revolves around free-spirited journalist Juliet Ashton, played by Lily James. Attracted to Bristol by its well-preserved harbour, the filmmakers recreated 1940s Weymouth Docks along the very same stretch of Bristol Harbourside that hosted filming for Stan & Ollie earlier in the same month (March 2017) - Princes Wharf, outside M Shed, and the MV Balmoral.
Image: M Shed exterior, credit Paul Box
The Sense of an Ending (2017)
Bristol locations: Clifton Suspension Bridge
Starring: Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, Michelle Dockery, Emily Mortimer
Shot in part on location in Bristol, Julian Barnes‘s Booker Prize-winning 2011 novel comes to the screen in this 2017 adaptation. Keep an eye out for one of Bristol’s biggest celebs in the film - the Clifton Suspension Bridge!
Golden Years (2016)
Bristol locations: Bottle Yard Studios, bank buildings near St Nicholas Market, Broad Street, Clare Street, Corn Street, The Ardagh Sports Club at Horfield Common, Arnos Manor Hotel, Tyntesfield
Starring: Bernard Hill, Virginia McKenna, Phillip Davis, Simon Callow, Brad Moore, Una Stubbs
Bristol is known for its ‘B’ words – Banksy, Bridges, Brunel, Balloons, Blue glass…this British heist comedy, filmed on location in Bristol and the Cotswolds, adds a few more to the list – Banks, Bowls and Bingo! Pensioners Arthur and Martha Goode (played by Bernard Hill and Virginia McKenna) turn to a life of crime when they discover their pension pot is practically worthless. In the trailer alone, you’ll see glorious sunny shots of Bristol’s Harbourside, a glowing Clifton Suspension Bridge at night, and bowls at The Ardagh Sports Club at Horfield Common. Watch the trailer here.
Image - Tyntesfield
We Can Be Heroes (2017)
Bristol locations: Bottle Yard Studios, Kings Head Park
Starring: Phil Davis, Alison Steadman
The production for We Can Be Heroes, an adaptation of the best-selling book, used Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios for studio filming and production offices. Other Bristol filming locations included Kings Head Park in nearby Bishopsworth.
Image: The Bottle Yard Studios
Wolf Hall (2015)
Bristol locations: Bristol Cathedral
Starring: Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, Claire Foy
Wolf Hall chronicles the journey of Thomas Cromwell, played wonderfully by Mark Rylance in the hit drama, as he ascends rapidly from humble blacksmith’s son to King Henry VIII's Chief Minister. The Chapter House of the cathedral doubles as the Duke of Norfolk's office. The gothic Elder Lady Chapel was where Catherine of Aragon’s last moments were filmed, and the Choir, with its intricate wood carvings, where a tense encounter between Anne Boleyn and the French Ambassador took place.
But it’s in the Cathedral’s distinctive Nave, with the twinkling light of the Choir’s lamps visible beyond, where the biggest scene of them all was filmed: Anne Boleyn’s coronation.
Image - Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall, filmed in the Lady Chapel at Bristol Cathedral
Another Mother’s Son (2015)
Bristol locations: Princes Wharf - Bristol Harbourside, M Shed, MV Balmoral
Starring: Jenny Seagrove, John Hannah, Amanda Abbington, Ronan Keating
Another Mother’s Son tells a little-known true story from Nazi-occupied Jersey in WWII. In December 2015, Princes Wharf (yep that old chestnut again!) was transformed into wartime St Helier for a sequence in the film. The quayside by the MV Balmoral became the backdrop for a scene in which Jersey deportees are boarded onto a 1940s steam ship. The production also set up a unit base for the shoot at the Lloyds Amphitheatre on Bristol Harbourside.
Image: Aerial view of Bristol Harbourside, credit Lloyds Amphitheatre, Bristol, credit Paul Box
The Inbetweeners 2 (2014)
Bristol locations: Clifton Suspension Bridge and Clifton Observatory
Starring: James Buckley, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas and Simon Bird
In the movie, Will (Simon Bird) has just started at the University of Bristol and the film opens with one of the city’s most famous sights, the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The world-famous landmark spans the stunning Avon Gorge and has some blockbuster views. Eagle eyes will also be to spot Clifton Observatory during the scene.
Image: Clifton Suspension Bridge
The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box (2013)
Bristol locations: The Victoria Rooms, Bottle Yard Studios, Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel/ College Green, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building
Starring: Sam Neill, Michael Sheen, Ioan Gruffudd and Lena Headey
A fantasy adventure adaptation of the G.P. Taylor novel 'Mariah Mundi: The Midas Box', used Bristol’s The Bottle Yard Studios (the largest dedicated film and TV studio facility in the West of England) as its studio base and filmed on location across Bristol and Bath. In the film, The Victoria Rooms - the University of Bristol’s Department of Music - are featured as the exterior of the 'London Museum' where we first meet Mariah (Aneurin Barnard) and Will (Michael Sheen). In another shot, Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel and College Green can be seen when Charles (Ioan Gruffudd) and Catherine (Keeley Hawes) are intercepted leaving the ‘London Museum’. Yet another University of Bristol building is used to portray the inside of the museum – this time it’s the impressive, towering Wills Memorial Building - book a tour to see it for yourself. The beautiful Blaise Castle Estate Stable Yard made the cut as the 'Gateshead Reformatory' when Barnard (Mariah) and Felix (Xavier Atkins) try to escape and Sheen (Will) comes to the rescue. The production crew also built incredible sets at The Bottle Yard Studios, including a humongous hotel lobby, an underground cave and an indoor re-creation of North Somerset’s Brean Down.
These Foolish Things (2005)
Bristol locations: Bristol Hippodrome, King Street
Starring: Angelica Houston, Lauren Bacall, Andrew Lincoln
Hollywood legends Angelica Houston and Lauren Bacall star in this England-based melodrama. During filming, the crew transformed Bristol’s King Street and Bristol Hippodrome into 1930s theatre-land. Andrew Lincoln, (who plays lead actor in Bristol productions, Afterlife and Teachers as well as international hit TV series, The Walking Dead) also stars.
Image: Bristol Hippodrome
The Truth About Love (2005)
Bristol locations: Clifton Suspension Bridge, St Mary Redcliffe, The Grove, Park Place in Clifton, Merchants Quay and Redcliffe Wharf, Severnshed and The Paragon in Clifton
Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Dougray Scott and Jimi Mistry
While this film doesn’t get great reviews, it does contain lots of lovely Bristol shots! Clifton Suspension Bridge stars, Jennifer Love Hewitt dines at Severnshed and Bristol Temple Meads, Redcliffe Wharf and Christmas Steps all get some screen time. There’s lots more too, so keep your eyes peeled!
The Duchess (2008)
Bristol locations: Bristol Old Vic Theatre
Starring: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes
This Oscar and BAFTA-winning period drama stars Keira Knightley as 18th Century aristocrat, Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, and Ralph Fiennes as her unfaithful husband. Bristol is used here as a film double for Bath and London and the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane - seen when The Duke and Duchess visit the theatre with Lady Bess Foster - is actually Bristol Old Vic.
Image - Bristol Old Vic
Starter for Ten (2006)
Bristol locations: Royal York Crescent, Christmas Steps, University of Bristol, Floating Harbour at Welsh Back and Redcliffe Wharf
Starring: James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch and Mark Gatiss
A young James McAvoy stars as Brian, a Bristol University student determined to win a place on University Challenge. In the film, McAvoy arrives at his student flat in Bristol – seen here on Royal York Crescent in Clifton. This long, sweeping Georgian crescent is known for its incredible architecture, jaw-dropping views over the city and is actually longer than the world-renowned Royal Crescent in nearby Bath. An extremely nice spot for student digs, if you ask us!
McAvoy can also be seen climbing the historic Christmas Steps on his way to his flat. Christmas Steps is based in the Old City and dates back to medieval times, nowadays the area is part of a characterful hub of creative traders.
In another scene, McAvoy and Rebecca (Rebecca Hall) take one of Bristol Ferry Boat Company’s boats down a part of the river known as Welsh Back and Redcliffe Wharf. And you can do the same - the waterbus service ferries passengers around the Harbourside 364 days of the year – hop on and off at 17 stops – it’s a great way to see the city.
Image - Starter for Ten
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Bristol locations: Aardman Animations
Starring: Peter Sallis, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes
Aardman Animations, based in Bristol, has a total of ten Oscars nominations and has won four thanks to animated features such as Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and The Wrong Trousers.
Image: Aardman Animations
Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990)
Bristol locations: Birdcage Walk, Clifton and Goldney Hall
Starring: Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman
Anthony Minghella's highly-acclaimed BAFTA-winning tale of love and loss filmed various scenes in Bristol as a stand in for parts of London. Goldney Hall – part of Bristol University - was used as the café where Nina (Juliet Stevenson) meets Mark (Michael Maloney). Birdcage Walk, an arched walkway through a graveyard in Clifton, was also featured. The site is all that remains of St. Andrews Church – built in the 12th century but destroyed in the Bristol Blitz.
Image: Birdcage Walk
Medusa Touch (1978)
Bristol locations: Bristol Cathedral, City Hall, Park Street
Starring: Richard Burton
In this supernatural thriller, Richard Burton plays a man with psychokinetic powers. Bristol Cathedral is used to dramatic effect as the fictional ‘Minster’ and viewers can also spy City Hall and Park Street in the background.
Some People (1962)
Bristol locations: Clifton Down, Clifton Suspension Bridge
Starring: Kenneth More, Harry Corbett, Ray Brooks, Angela Douglas
This film was shot entirely on location in Bristol and provides a snapshot of 1960s Bristolian teenage life. Clifton Down and the Clifton Suspension Bridge are both visible in the film.
Image: The Downs
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