Written by on Feb 10, 2015. Posted in On Location

BBC films Sherlock in Bristol with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman

Filming wraps today in Bristol on a special episode of the BBC’s hit drama series Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Scenes were filmed at the team’s production base in The Bottle Yard Studios and on location around the city.

Production company Hartswood Films built sets in The Bottle Yard’s Tank House 2, which offers around 17,000 sq ft of production space.

“Like the rest of the country, we’re massive Sherlock fans here at The Bottle Yard; it’s British television at its best,” said Fiona Francombe, Site Director at The Bottle Yard Studios.

“It’s been an honour for us to welcome Hartswood Films to the Studios for this special instalment. It’s a wonderful boost for us to be able to add an award-winning title such as Sherlock to our studio credits.”

The Bottle Yard has rapidly established itself as a popular production resource for TV projects filming in Bristol and elsewhere in west England. In addition to its 300,000 sq ft of production space, the studios are also now home to various production businesses offering services ranging from location filming resources through to set recycling.

Television filming in the UK has become more prolific since the government launched a TV tax credit alongside the existing filming incentive in 2013. Productions that would previously have had to shoot in places like Eastern Europe are now remaining in the UK. Period dramas like Wolf Hall have utilised the historic locations available in western England.

American TV shows have also been attracted by the TV tax credit, with 24: Live Another Day using London as both a setting and a filming location. Disney has based many of its big-budget features in London and filmed its TV series Galavant in western England.

(Images: BBC)