Filmed in Bristol & on screens this Xmas

There’s a whole host of festive filmed-in-Bristol TV treats to enjoy this Xmas, plus plenty more screen delights shot in the city to look forward to in 2022. 

Laura Aviles, Senior Bristol Film Manager, Bristol City Council, says: “2021 was a hugely busy year for film and TV production in Bristol. We welcomed an unprecedented number of dramas to film at The Bottle Yard Studios and the many diverse locations supported by Bristol Film Office. We’ve seen more of the city portraying itself on screen, hosting memorable performances from the likes of Christopher Walken who walked Bristol’s streets (and painted over a Banksy), Celine Buckens who gave us the character we loved to hate in Showtrial's Talitha Campbell, and Lesley Sharp as Bristol-based detective Hannah Laing in the gritty fast-paced Before We Die. Teen spy Alex Rider, The Doctor, Daleks and many more have filmed at A Bond warehouse and we’ve seen Top Gear confirm its move to Bristol. 2022 will be the year of The Bottle Yard’s expansion, as we add three new stages to our studio offering thanks to £11.8m investment from the West of England Combined Authority. We look forward to another year assisting Bristol’s production sector on its journey from strength to strength.”

Here’s our roundup of shows on screen this Xmas that were filmed at The Bottle Yard Studios and/or on location in Bristol – plus what to look out for in 2022!

Clockwise from top left: The Girl Before (BBC One/HBO Max), Doctor Who: Eve of the Daleks (BBC One), A Discovery of Witches series 3 (Sky Max/NOW TV), Tipping Point Lucky Stars Festive Special (ITV/RDF Television).

On screen this Xmas

The Girl Before: begins 19 December, BBC One Watch trailer
A four-part drama starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki, The Morning Show, Black Mirror), David Oyelowo (Selma, Les Misérables), Jessica Plummer (Eastenders, How To Talk To Girls At Parties) and Ben Hardy (Bohemian Rhapsody, Eastenders). Jane (Mbatha-Raw) gets the chance to move into a beautiful, ultra-minimalist house designed by an enigmatic architect (David Oyelowo). There’s just one catch: the occupants must abide by his list of exacting rules. Jane starts to feel the house changing her in unexpected ways, but when she makes the shocking discovery about her predecessor, Emma (Jessica Plummer), she’s forced to confront unnerving similarities. As the two women’s timelines interweave, Jane begins to question if her fate will be the same as the girl before.

Adapted by British author JP Delaney from his 2016 global bestselling novel which has sold over one million copies since publication. Bespoke two storey sets were built at The Bottle Yard Studios for One Folgate Street, the drama’s main location, and an exterior façade for the property was built at the end of Woodland Terrace off Hampton Road in Redland, Bristol.

Doctor Who - Eve of the Daleks: 7pm, New Year’s Day, BBC One Watch trailer
Following the explosive series finale of Doctor Who: Flux, The Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and friends Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Dan (John Bishop), will kick-start 2022 with an action-packed spectacular episode. Eve of the Daleks will also feature guest stars Aisling Bea (This Way Up, Living With Yourself, Quiz), Adjani Salmon (Dreaming Whilst Black, Enterprice) and Pauline McLynn (Father Ted, Shameless). Sarah (Aisling Bea) owns and runs ELF storage, and Nick (Adjani Salmon) is a customer who visits his unit every year on New Year’s Eve. This year, however, their night turns out to be a little different than planned as they find themselves joining forces with the Doctor, Dan and Yaz in a fight against the Daleks. The trailer for the special, which aired following the series thirteen finale, finds the cast trapped in ELF storage and stuck in a terrifying time loop with the Daleks. Will the gang manage to avoid extermination and escape the storage facility in time to see out New Year’s Day? The Dalek-filled, action-packed special was part-filmed in Bristol’s A Bond Warehouse earlier this year, assisted by  Bristol Film Office.

A Discovery of Witches (season three): begins 7 January, Sky Max / NOW Watch trailer
A Discovery of Witches season 3 is based on The Book of Life novel from Deborah Harkness's bestselling 'All Souls' trilogy and is the third and final instalment. Matthew (Matthew Goode) and Diana (Teresa Palmer) return from their trip to 1590 to find tragedy at Sept-Tours. They are tasked with finding the missing pages from the Book of Life and the Book itself before it's too late. Their enemies are gearing up against them, and a monster from Matthew’s past who has been lying in wait will return for revenge. Other cast includes Owen Teale, Malin Buska, Alex Kingston, Aiysha Hart, Edward Bluemel, Lindsay Duncan, Peter McDonald, Trevor Eve, Gregg Chillin and Adelle Leonce. A Discovery of Witches season three was part-filmed in Bristol, with interior and exterior scenes shot on Berkeley Square in Clifton.

Tipping Point Lucky Stars Festive Special: 3.55pm Xmas Eve, ITV
Ben Shephard hosts a special festive edition of Tipping Point: Lucky Stars, the quiz in which three celebrities take on a magnificent machine in the hope of winning £20,000 for charity. Bestowing their Christmas presence upon us are Strictly judge Anton Du Beke, TV favourite Scarlett Moffatt and reality star turned TV host Bobby Norris, all eager to land their charities a Christmas gift to remember. Tipping Point is filmed in the show’s 8,000 sq. ft. studio at The Bottle Yard.

Image: Clockwise from top left: Chloe (BBC One/Amazon), Becoming Elizabeth (Starz), Extinction (Sky Max/NOW TV), Sanditon season 2 (BritBox UK/ /Masterpiece.

Coming in 2022

The Outlaws season 2
A second series of The Outlaws, the comedy thriller set and filmed in Bristol, made by multi-award-winning writer and director Stephen Merchant and originally created by Merchant and Elgin James (co-creator of US series Mayans M.C.) has been confirmed for 2022 by the BBC. Following seven strangers from different walks of life forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence in Bristol, series one was the BBC’s biggest comedy launch of 2021 and has been streamed 11m times on BBC iPlayer so far. Following on directly from the first series, The Outlaws still have time to serve on their sentences – but now they must face the fallout from their actions. If they thought the criminal underworld or the local police were done with them, they are sorely mistaken. The Outlaws must depend on one another while working with unlikely allies to atone for their sins – but can they save themselves without sacrificing their souls?

Series two will see the return of Academy Award-winning actor Christopher Walken, alongside writer and star Stephen Merchant, with Rhianne Barret, Gamba Cole, Darren Boyd, Clare Perkins, Eleanor Tomlinson, Jessica Gunning, Charles Babalola, Nina Wadia, Tom Hanson and Aiyana Goodfellow. Filming has already been completed at The Bottle Yard Studios and on location in Bristol, assisted by Bristol Film Office. The new series will air next year.

Sanditon season 2
Sanditon, the acclaimed drama based on Jane Austen’s final, unfinished novel and developed by Emmy®- and BAFTA-winning writer Andrew Davies, left fans in suspense and clamouring for more with season one’s heart-breaking finale. Now it’s set to return with a second series that will see heroine Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) return to the picturesque coastal resort, taking up the role of governess to Augusta Markham (Eloise Webb), Alexander Colbourne’s ward and niece, who at the age of 17 pushes against authority and soon gives Charlotte a run for her money. Charlotte’s spirited younger sister, Alison Heywood (Rosie Graham) comes to Sanditon to pursue her own romantic dream, and joined by The Parkers, the second series promises new romances, friendships and challenges for the residents as the Army make Sanditon their new base. Tom Parker (Kris Marshall) strives to rebuild Sanditon but there are many unforeseen issues awaiting him, while the secrets and lies of the dysfunctional Denhams continue to rock the foundations of the sunny seaside town. And, in her last summer season before turning 21, Georgiana Lambe (Crystal Clarke), keen to forge her own identity, gets up to mischief in the name of love…but will she run the risk of being lonelier than ever before?

Sanditon series two was filmed in Bristol at the Brabazon Hangars (the future home of YTL Arena Bristol) and across the surrounding region at locations including Brean Beach and Middle Hope Cove in Somerset. It will premiere as a BritBox Original in the UK on Monday 21 March 2022 and in the US on MASTERPIECE on PBS on Sunday 20 March 2022.

Chloe
Set in Bristol and created by Alice Seabright, six part drama Chloe stars Erin Doherty, Billy Howle, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Jack Farthing, Poppy Gilbert, Akshay Khanna and Brandon Micheal Hall. Chloe follows Becky Green (Doherty) who has been watching Chloe Fairbourne (Poppy Gilbert) 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. Taking full advantage of Bristol’s rich cultural scene from the art to music, Chloe will also feature 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 was filmed at The Bottle Yard Studios and on location in Bristol (assisted by Bristol Film Office) and the surrounding region. It will air on BBC One in 2022.

Becoming Elizabeth
Created by playwright Anya Reiss and produced by The Forge Entertainment, Becoming Elizabeth (Starz) is the fascinating, untold story of the early life of England’s most iconic Queen starring Alicia von Rittberg, Romola Garai, Oliver Zetterström, Jessica Raine, Tom Cullen, and John Heffernan. Long before she ascended the throne, young Elizabeth Tudor was an orphaned teenager who became embroiled in the political and sexual politics of the English court. The death of King Henry VIII sets into motion a dangerous scramble for power. His surviving children find themselves pawns in a game between the great families of England and the powers of Europe who vie for control of the country. The world of Becoming Elizabeth is visceral, dangerous, and very bloody; a time in which every man or woman of the court is on the wheel of fortune, which may take them to a position of great power one moment, or the executioner’s block the next. Judgements are rendered quickly, and no one is safe.

Becoming Elizabeth was filmed on Tudor palace sets The Bottle Yard Studios and across the West of England region. It will air on STARZPlay in 2022.

Extinction
1 July 2019. A date that George (Pappa Essiedu) can never forget… No matter how hard he tries. Trapped in a loop that keeps returning him to 1 July, he discovers the existence of a secret organisation known as “The Lazarus Project” – a crack team of agents who prevent global catastrophe by resetting time. George signs on with the group as their latest recruit, but when tragedy strikes, George must decide if he can live with the consequences to save the world, or take a different path… This propulsive action thriller comes from Joe Barton (Giri/Haji) and also stars Tom Burke, Anjli Mohindra, Caroline Quentin, Rudi Dharmalingam and Lukas Loughran.

Extinction was part-filmed in Bristol in early 2021 with assistance from Bristol Film Office. It will air on Sky Max and NOW TV in Spring 2022.