London is one of the top production hubs in the world and offers several world-class studio facilities. The UK’s generous filming incentive programme facilitates big-budget features and high-profile TV shows in London.
Pinewood Studios will be home to the Star Wars franchise for at least the next couple of years.
Several of London’s biggest studio facilities are expanding to cater for demand and existing industrial spaces are increasingly being used as adapted filming spaces, especially for TV shoots.
International shoots are less common outside London but resources continue to develop. The Bottle Yard Studios has become a production hub in Bristol and a major new adapted studio space will soon be available in Yorkshire.
To the west, Wales offers scenic countryside and historic castles, as well as Pinewood Studio Wales in Cardiff. American adventure series Da Vinci’s Demons was a long-term resident and major new US drama The Bastard Executioner is filming locally.
Scotland has found success with TV series Outlander and capitalises on its scenic beauty, but the government remains under pressure to build a purpose-built studio.
Northern Ireland continues to enjoy the global success of Game of Thrones, but otherwise attracts mainly UK-based TV.
The perfect combination of stunning locations, a healthy crew base, affordable rates and unwavering support from Screen Yorkshire, made basing Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell in Leeds and York for 16 weeks of filming a very easy decision to make.
Nick Hirschkorn, Producer for Feel Films
The UK has a temperate maritime climate, with winter temperatures rarely falling below freezing, while temperatures reach about 32C at the height of summer. As the UK is an island the climate is constantly affected by the ocean and so conditions can be unpredictable.
Rainfall is evenly distributed across the UK, although October to January tends to see the wettest conditions. By region, the Lake District gets the most rainfall. The north and western areas of the UK generally have the most number of overcast days in a year.
