Written by new-contact on Feb 9, 2015. Posted in On Location

BBC films JK Rowling novel The Casual Vacancy on location in Bristol

Filming took place partly in Bristol in the west of England for the BBC’s new three-part TV drama The Casual Vacancy, based on JK Rowling’s adult novel. Bristol has become a popular western England filming location and shoots are frequently based at The Bottle Yard Studios.

The Casual Vacancy follows class strife and family conflict in an apparently idyllic country village.

“The Bristol Film Office were fantastically helpful in helping us identify places to film and in many other ways too; identifying our needs and connecting the production team to reliable local suppliers,” said producer Ruth Kenley-Letts: “With so many locations required for the production, their support was invaluable!”

Added Natalie Moore of the Bristol Film Office: “It was a pleasure to welcome Brontë Film and Television to Bristol last year for the filming of this highly anticipated new drama.

“Bristol has a fantastic track record as a location for TV drama, we are a film-friendly city that works hard to assist production teams, by helping with locations searches, putting them in touch with local partners and supplying all the permissions needed to ensure filming runs smoothly.”

More productions are choosing Bristol and its surrounds as a filming location, aided in part by the UK’s TV tax credit which has made England and Wales more economically feasible.

Recent high-profile productions shooting in the area have included period dramas New Worlds and Wolf Hall, plus the Disney fantasy series Galavant and the upcoming Poldark. The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol have quickly become popular as both a filming facility and a production base.

Bristol also offers easy access to South Wales, where the BBC bases Doctor Who and its long-running medical drama Casualty.

The Casual Vacancy starts on BBC One on 15 February 2015.