Written by on Sep 9, 2013. Posted in Production News

Period gangster drama Peaky Blinders films on location in Yorkshire

Period gangster TV drama Peaky Blinders filmed on location in the Yorkshire city of Leeds in the north of England, doubling the region for Birmingham. Set in 1919, the series charts a story of gang warfare in the city slums and the policeman charged with bringing order to the streets.

The Peaky Blinders team was based at Studio 81 in Leeds, a facility that offers production space, construction and props workshops, and 16,000 square feet of studio space. Filming locations included Bolton Abbey, Leeds Town Hall and Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.

The Birmingham we needed to recreate, due to a combination of the war and town planners, doesn't exist anymore. We decided that Yorkshire was the best place to base the drama Peaky Blinders.

Frith Tiplady, Tiger Aspect Productions

“To realise 1919 Birmingham was always going to be a massive challenge,” said Frith Tiplady, an executive producer with Tiger Aspect Productions: “The Birmingham we needed to recreate, due to a combination of the war and town planners, doesn't exist anymore. We decided that Yorkshire was the best place to base the drama Peaky Blinders.

“[It was] a combination of fantastic period locations, great crew and support from Screen Yorkshire and the local council. Most of our filming was in Leeds and supplemented by shooting a couple of key locations in Liverpool and Birmingham.”

Peaky Blinders was co-produced by Caryn Mandabach Productions, Tiger Aspect, the BBC and also Screen Yorkshire, which invested money from its Yorkshire Content Fund.

Northern England is an increasingly popular filming location for high-end TV period dramas. The Mill filmed in Cheshire for Channel 4, while the BBC filmed in the Peak District for The Village and in Birmingham for Dancing on the Edge.

Peaky Blinders begins in the UK on BBC Two from 12 September 2013.