Shetland off the northern tip of Scotland will get another location filming showcase with a full series commission for the TV drama of the same name. Produced by ITV Studios for the BBC, the full series of Shetland will be based on three locally-set novels written by Ann Cleves.
Period fantasy miniseries Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell will film on location in northern England and in Canada. The drama is set in an alternate 19th Century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars, as two men reintroduce magic to the landscape.
On Screen Productions, based in Kenya, will film a new TV documentary series for Africa Pay TV operator Zuku. From Here to Timbuktu will offer a portrait of 21st Century Africa and will initially film in regions including Ethiopia, Uganda and Zanzibar.
Film London has been given a funding boost to help take advantage of the UK’s new TV location filming tax credit and attract more high-end television. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has provided an extra GBP2 million to broaden Film London’s remit.
Hungary doubled for Croatia, Italy and England in the BBC’s TV movie adaptation of classic Hitchcock drama The Lady Vanishes. The story focuses on a young socialite struggling with a mysterious disappearance on board a train during a trip in the Balkans.
The BBC’s new drama series Atlantis is setting up studio space in a former supermarket storage building near Chepstow in Wales. Doctor Who and long-running medical drama Casualty are based at the BBC’s Roath Lock studio facility in nearby Cardiff.
The BBC’s Top Gear team is filming a supersonic car sequence this week on location in New Zealand. Ninety Mile Beach lies north-west of Auckland on the country’s North Island and the production team will be in the area for six days.
Stephen Poliakoff’s 1930s-set TV miniseries Dancing on the Edge got production support from Creative England to secure filming locations in West Midlands. Created to replace regional screen agencies, Creative England offers support and funding for productions filming outside London.