BBC One Better: Filming continues off Kirkstall Road in Leeds for new TV show following Bingley bypass closure which caused 'gridlock'

Filming for BBC One's Better continued this week as film crews set up just off Kirkstall Road in Leeds.

The upcoming thriller miniseries is set in the city and stars Leila Farzad as DI Lou Slack and Andrew Buchan as Col McHugh.

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On Monday, May 23, two roads were shut - Allerton Street and Cardigan Lane - while filming took place, Leeds City Council has confirmed.

It follows the closure of the Sir Fred Hoyle Way bypass in Bingley last week, which caused "gridlock" in the area, according to local councillor Geoff Winnard (Conservative).

Filming for BBC One's Better continued this week as film crews set up just off Kirkstall Road in Leeds.Filming for BBC One's Better continued this week as film crews set up just off Kirkstall Road in Leeds.
Filming for BBC One's Better continued this week as film crews set up just off Kirkstall Road in Leeds.

The major road was was shut between 6am and 9pm on Sunday May 15, with one side of the dual carriageway being used for traffic travelling in both directions. The other carriageway was taken over by film crews.

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The town's three city councillors said they were not aware of the planned closure and Bingley Town Council said they were not consulted either.

It was closed so that the crews could shoot a car chase scene.

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The upcoming thriller miniseries is set in the city and stars Leila Farzad as DI Lou Slack and Andrew Buchan as Col McHugh.The upcoming thriller miniseries is set in the city and stars Leila Farzad as DI Lou Slack and Andrew Buchan as Col McHugh.
The upcoming thriller miniseries is set in the city and stars Leila Farzad as DI Lou Slack and Andrew Buchan as Col McHugh.

Filming of Better has been taking place across Leeds in recent weeks, including in several streets in the city centre and at the Corn Exchange.

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The show, which is being produced by Sister, tells the story of a female police inspector who, as a young officer, struck a 'deal' with an ambitious member of the city's criminal underworld that suited them both.

The plot is about her redemption and morality 20 years on.

It has been created by Jonathan Brackley and Sam Vincent, who wrote the hit shows Spooks and Humans.

The main character of DI Lou Slack is described as "confident, quick-witted and wry."

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She was always destined to be a detective, just like her father, she is a legendary detective in the same Yorkshire force. While to her peers, she can do no wrong, Lou’s success actually lies on a foundation of deceit and corruption.

Actress Leila Farzad’s previous credits include I Hate Suzie and Avenue 5.

“Better is a brilliant fresh take on the morality tale. I am excited to have the opportunity to play Lou Slack, the vehicle through which we explore the multivalent layers of good and bad,” she said.

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“A complex, flawed yet utterly human character. I feel very lucky to be a part of such a wonderful show with an incredibly talented team attached to it.”

Col McHugh is described as a "charming and charismatic Irish businessman" who has a "presence that commands any room he walks into."

He is successful in business and also a property developer. To those who know him well, he is a highly disciplined and coldly ruthless head of a powerful citywide drug trafficking gang.

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Andrew has previously starred in Broadchurch, The Honourable Woman and ABC Murders.

The rest of the cast are as follows:

- Samuel Edward-Cook (Peaky Blinders) as Ceri, Lou’s husband

- Zak Ford-Williams (Wolfe) as Owen, Lou and Ceri’s smart, imaginative and sensitive teenage son

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- Ceallach Spellman (Cold Feet) as Donal, Col’s son, a broken young man who fails to live up to his father’s expectations

- Carolin Stoltz (Liar) as Alma, Col’s wife

- Anton Lesser (Killing Eve, The Trial of Christine Keeler) as Vernon, an former detective who knew Lou’s dad

- Olivia Nakintu (Vera) as D.C. Esther Okoye, Lou’s closest colleague on the force