The BBC will film a third series of its crime drama Shetland on location on the archipelago north of the Scottish mainland. Douglas Henshall will once again star as DI Jimmy Perez, whose new investigation involves a young man's disappearance during a ferry crossing.
There was a rise in the number of New Zealand features made as international co-productions in 2014, while Wellington remained the country’s main filming hub. Nearly 80% of production revenue for the year was generated in the capital.
Boutique visual effects company Milk is set to open a new studio in Cardiff and will start work on the upcoming Christmas special of Sherlock and ITV’s Dark Ages fantasy Beowulf. The company will also work on the new series of Doctor Who, which is based in Cardiff.
The BBC has signed an agreement to support Northern Ireland’s production sector by making closer ties with Northern Ireland Screen. Northern Ireland is known internationally as the home of Game of Thrones and the BBC films locally for crime drama The Fall.
The BBC is relocating its long-running show Dragons’ Den to the new Space Project production hub in eastern Manchester. More than 55,000 sq ft of stage space is available to producers in the new facility, plus 10,000 sq ft of production and workshop room.
Harry Potter and period drama Downton Abbey helped drive film tourism in England in 2014. Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, and the Dorset filming locations used for child murder drama Broadchurch, contributed to an overall spend of up to GBP 140 million.
A second series of murder drama The Tunnel will return to film on location in Kent in southern England. The show is a remake of Scandinavian drama The Bridge and the first series charted a joint English-French investigation following a murder in the centre of the Channel Tunnel.
An environmentally-friendly chauffeur service has opened at The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol. Studio Cars offers a fleet of low-emission and electric vehicles to transport production crew, cast and VIPs to and from the studio.