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Exclusive: Behind the scenes at the new film studio in the heart of Leeds
IT is a puzzle worthy of Cluedo: what links Waddington Games to corrupt coppers, Mr Darcy, Brian Clough, Yorkshire vets and Heathcliff?
The answer is that the former Leeds board game factory, where once Cluedo, Monopoly and Subbuteo were manufactured, has since 2006 become home to production studios where all those characters have been filmed.
And now, under ambitious plans soon to be launched by the team behind Leeds Independent Studios, they could soon be joined by none other than James Bond, Harry Potter and a host of big-ticket action stars.
It's management team is drawing up plans to double the studio space, add new production suites and bring in better catering and support facilities in order to make Leeds the pre-eminent hub for film-making outside of the capital.
If they succeed in attracting funding for the project it would breathe new life into an industry still reeling from the decision earlier this year by ITV to mothball its grand old studios on the other side of Kirkstall Road.
Not only would it see stars as famous as Daniel Craig and Daniel Radcliffe relocate to Yorkshire for film shoots, but could bring as much as 80m a year into the local economy – firmly placing the region at the centre of the UK creative industries map.
Spurring the development on is Martin Cook, the managing director of Leeds Independent Studios, who set up the Tricycle Theatre in London before moving into film, starting with production company Working Title before moving to Yorkshire and working for YTV.
He set up the studio in 2006 when writer Kay Mellor wanted a permanent base for her veterinary surgery-set show The Chase, and has since attracted a series of producers to leave London and base their film in Yorkshire instead.
Speaking in the 16,000sq ft studio yesterday among cardboard sets for upcoming ITV drama Married, Single, Other, he said producers were desperate to base themselves in Yorkshire but there simply were not the facilities at the moment to accommodate them.
"We've got a commission starting later this year which will be filming in Leeds but pretending it's London," he said. "They'll have to bring a few red buses up but they see it as far better value to base their production up here then stay in the capital.
"Sadly, like the London buses, we're getting productions coming along two at a time at the moment and we can't fit them in.
"If we were able to build another studio we could position Leeds as a real production hub for films. The more work there is up here, the bigger the talent pool. When we're able to provide the facilities needed we'll get world-class directors, designers, directors of photography moving up here permanently and then people will want to come in Leeds as their first choice."
While the centre will always remain a hub for smaller independent films, such as the recent The Damned United starring Michael Sheen, having a second studio would allow major films, which currently shoot on location in the north of England, to film certain internal scenes in Leeds.
"It would be lovely if we got big films but realistically they require big pools of talent and big facilities. Filming James Bond requires a huge studio like Pinewood, but we aspire to take on part of those sorts
of productions," Mr Cook said.
"Many of those films use locations up here for certain scenes, and there's no reason at all why we can't provide small studio facilities and back-up production support for when they're doing their filming in the area."
But to do that money needs to be found for another studio, production suite, car park, up to 20,000sq ft of space for assorted production units and a cafe bar for freelances to mingle, bounce ideas off each other and find out about new jobs.
Over the next few months Mr Cook said he would be approaching potential funding partners – with the promise that the current 12m a year generated for the regional economy through the studio could soon rocket.
Dramas bring millions to Leeds
Since opening in 2006 Leeds Independent Studios has hosted more than 50 hours of feature film and television drama with average annual budgets of 11.5m.
Famous shows included BBC drama The Chase – for which the studio was originally built – set in a Leeds veterinary surgery and filmed in 2006. Written by Kay Mellor, she returned the next year for her racy ITV series about a sex therapist, Strictly Confidential.
Next to be filmed was hard-hitting BBC drama White Girl, about a white working class family who move to a Muslim area of Bradford. Other shows filmed include Lost in Austen, Wuthering Heights and the critically-lauded Red Riding trilogy for Channel 4.
The recent film Damned United, about Brian Clough's tulmultous 44-day reign as Leeds United manager, was shot there. Kay Mellor will return in the autumn when filming of latest show A Passionate Woman begins at the studio.
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