An estimated £3.4 million was pumped into the Bath local economy last year by film crews using the city and surrounds – all helped by Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Film Office which is marking its 30th anniversary this year.
As one of the longest established film offices in the country, the Bath Film Office acts as a vital cog, liaising between productions of all sizes, council services and supporting the needs of residents and businesses.
The first production filmed after its creation was the BBC's 1995 adaptation of Persuasion, starring Cieran Hinds and Amanda Root.
Since then, numerous TV series and feature films have shot in Bath, including:
- Vanity Fair (2004)
- The Duchess (2008)
- Les Misérables (2012)
- Sherlock (2010-17)
- The Trial of Christine Keeler (2019-20)
- McDonald and Dodds (2020-present)
- Bridgerton (2020-present)
- Wonka (2023)
The Film Office doesn’t just support dramas, it also facilitates filming for documentaries, adverts and large photoshoots – look out for Keynsham Recycling Centre which features in the popular BBC One series Money for Nothing. And it provides advice and support to students who want to film in the area.
Councillor Paul Roper, Cabinet Member for Economic and Cultural Sustainable Development, said: “Bath and our surrounding towns and villages are a fantastic destination for filming and the council works hard to balance the needs of a production, however large or small with those of our residents and businesses. The film office does a great job to support film requests – congratulations on a 30-year anniversary.”
Using daily filming rates provided by Creative England an estimated £3.4 million was pumped into the Bath local economy last year by film crews through spend on accommodation, location hire, local crew and other services.
Image: The 2023 musical Wonka filming in Bath in 2021, credit Jamie Bellinger
TV and film production also brings money into the local economy through the 'set-jetting' tourism trend. Visit West’s 2023 Visitor Survey reports that 18% of visitors said that television had played a small part in motivating their visit, and 3% of visitors said it had played a strong part. This translates to more than one million visitors a year being motivated in part to visit Bath by what they’ve seen of the city on screen.
The same survey shows 28% of day visitors associated the area with Bridgerton. And the TV series has spawned a whole new industry of Bridgerton tours and experiences in the city which generated an estimated £5 million into the economy.
The office’s anniversary year looks set to be busy with the Film Office currently handling a lot of new enquiries. And Bath will again play a starring role in Bridgerton season 3, the first part of which launches on Netflix on 16 May.
Follow the council’s social media accounts for weekly #tThrowbackThursday, where the team look back at past productions throughout this anniversary year. For information about the Film Office, go to https://www.bathfilmoffice.co.uk/.
Related
Comments
Comments are disabled for this post.
