Bridgerton Effect leads screen tourism boom for the West as TV tourists swoon

Bridgerton, the romantic soap-opera take on Regency England full of society galas, family drama, and delicious gossip, is returning for its third series next week.

And one area is set to reap the benefits - Bath, and wider West of England region, where much of the show, which has attracted more than 200 million viewers on Netflix (with both series featuring in Netflix’s top ten most viewed shows of all time), was filmed.

The city’s tourism body, Visit West, says the popular period drama has contributed more than £5 million to the local economy with UK and international visitors, and expects that figure to increase in 2024 after the release of Part 1 (16 May) and Part 2 (13 June) of the latest series.

Bridgerton has even sparked the development of a new industry surrounding the show, with thousands of extra visitors to The Guildhall, the Royal Crescent, and other brilliant and historic Bath tourist attractions that feature in the popular period drama with a modern take.

This includes the creation of new tours and experiences. Bath Walking Tours has specifically designed a new tour taking in the show's most memorable filming locations.

Image: Bridgerton season 3, credit Liam Daniel & Netflix

Dan Norris, Mayor of the West of England, has hailed a “Bridgerton factor” as “a huge boost for Bath’s economy” and the wider West of England – which he called “quite simply: the Hollywood of the UK.”

Mr Norris said: “Some people say Bath is ‘one of the stars of Bridgerton’. I would say that actually the reverse is true - Bridgerton is one of stars of this incredible city. The series showcases the brilliant sites and attractions that make Bath what it is, and all at their most romantic. It's no wonder it put people in the mood for some West of England romance.

“The Bridgerton effect is huge for our region - generating millions for the West, and sparking a whole new tourist industry as thousands from every part of the world flock here.”

But the streets of Bath and some of the most familiar landmarks in the West of England are to appear more frequently on the big screen as a slew of TV dramas and films follow Bridgerton’s lead, including the new series of the hit comedy thriller The Outlaws, based in Bristol, the much-anticipated BBC drama Wolf Hall and Disney series Rivals, all of which were produced in the region.

The series follows a number of positive developments in the West of England film and TV sector in the last 18 months, including the opening of not one but two new film studios - the £12 million Mayoral Combined Authority-funded Bottle Yard Studios expansion (TBY2) as well as the £1 million Box7 studio that doubles up as a nightclub – both opened by Dan Norris.

The West of England currently has the largest concentration of production companies outside of London churning out content watched by 800 million people each month. The region is best known for its natural history focus, with 35% of all natural history content is produced there.

Mayor Dan Norris has also launched his £3 million Culture West scheme to open up the creative sector to more talent, including offering every child in the West of England at least one “cultural experience” per year, and a brand-new Film and TV training course to train up 200 young people.

West of England Mayor Dan Norris, who has backed the region’s world-leading creative industries with more than £4 million in funding since his election in May 2021, added: “The creative industries are thriving in the West of England."

“Ten years ago, much less drama and other TV and film was being made in Bath and the West of England. Now we have completely changed the picture.

"People in the West of England feel very proud that these productions are being made here."

Adapted from a series of historical romance novels by author Julia Quinn, the drama follows members of the Bridgerton family as they navigate London's high society in the 1800s.