Why Yorkshire’s starring role on film and TV is priceless – Sally Joynson

NO doubt like many of you, this autumn I enjoyed seeing the glorious Yorkshire Dales projected into my living room for the new adaptation of James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small.

Indeed, Yorkshire appears on our TV screens more than you might think, and that’s in no small part down to the work we do at Screen Yorkshire. 

Next year marks the 10-year anniversary of the inception of Screen Yorkshire’s Yorkshire Content Fund – a £15m investment fund financed by the European Regional Development Fund – which has now backed 50 productions and counting across film and television, including the new All Creatures Great and Small.

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Peaky Blinders was the very first programme we part-financed, back in 2012, when it was an unknown drama looking for a foot in the door at BBC2. 

In this sneak preview from the All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special, James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) soaks up Darrowby square's festive atmosphere wrapped up sensibly in a navy overcoat and fairisle knitted scarf.In this sneak preview from the All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special, James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) soaks up Darrowby square's festive atmosphere wrapped up sensibly in a navy overcoat and fairisle knitted scarf.
In this sneak preview from the All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special, James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) soaks up Darrowby square's festive atmosphere wrapped up sensibly in a navy overcoat and fairisle knitted scarf.

Since then we’ve had a hand in everything from primetime Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge to the BBC period two-parter Death Comes to Pemberley and films such as Dad’s Army, Testament of Youth and Official Secrets, which brought Keira Knightley to Bradford, Leeds and Boston Spa for her role as British secret-service officer Katharine Gun. 

The premise is simple: we part-finance films and TV shows to get them made in Yorkshire.

We secure the equivalent in private match funding for each investment and the productions we support must spend at least the equivalent of our own investment when they film here – but we estimate the regional spend is often at least three to four times as much as our original investment. 

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At a time when local businesses have been hugely affected by the pandemic, this contribution is more important than ever.

Sally Joynson is chief executive of Screen Yorkshire.Sally Joynson is chief executive of Screen Yorkshire.
Sally Joynson is chief executive of Screen Yorkshire.

The spend from productions shooting in Yorkshire goes directly into the local economy.

Filming requires a huge supply chain – everything from specialist kit hire to scaffolding, wood and other materials for building and dressing sets.

Cast and crew need accommodation, transport and catering.

And this funnels right down to minute details on screen.

The new adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small has helped showcase Yorkshire to a national TV audience on Channel 5.The new adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small has helped showcase Yorkshire to a national TV audience on Channel 5.
The new adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small has helped showcase Yorkshire to a national TV audience on Channel 5.

For example, Santa’s beard in the upcoming Christmas special of All Creatures Great and Small is made with lustrous Wensleydale sheep’s wool from Wensleydale Yarns, a local Dales business. 

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Filming in Yorkshire also creates jobs in the creative industries.

In July we launched our new crewing service, helping get as many Yorkshire-based crew on to productions as possible.

Even against the backdrop of Covid, we have already secured more than 2,000 days of work for freelancers on 21 productions up to Christmas and into 2021, when we hope filming will really start to gear up again.

Official Secrets brought actress Keira Knightley to Bradford, Leeds and Boston Spa for her role as British secret-service officer Katharine Gun.Official Secrets brought actress Keira Knightley to Bradford, Leeds and Boston Spa for her role as British secret-service officer Katharine Gun.
Official Secrets brought actress Keira Knightley to Bradford, Leeds and Boston Spa for her role as British secret-service officer Katharine Gun.

As a region, we should feel proud that Yorkshire’s contribution to British film and television production is so significant, outpacing that of other areas.

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Figures from the Office of National Statistics published in 2017 showed that Yorkshire had seen the highest rate of growth in the screen industries of anywhere in the UK over a six-year period to 2015, generating an annual turnover of £424m.

In 2018 Screen Yorkshire launched a dedicated Film Office which now handles around 400 enquiries a year from UK and international producers looking for specialist location support and filming advice. 

Our work is made easier by the breadth and brilliance of Yorkshire’s assets.

I’m talking about the dales and moors, the atmospheric coastline and historic fishing villages, the magnificent country estates and our heritage railways – to name a few.

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At Screen Yorkshire, we’ve spent years building relationships with local communities and venue owners to smooth the path for production 
crews.

But it’s a two-way street, and that’s partly why this year we launched the Filmed in Yorkshire website (https://filmedinyorkshire.co.uk), to promote screen tourism to the area.

Screen tourism has become increasingly big business in recent years. A report published by Visit England in 2015 found that tourists visiting heritage sites as a result of seeing them in TV or film had generated £140m for the UK economy the previous year. 

And we’re already aware of the benefits it can bring locally: in 2019, thanks to the airing of Gentleman Jack, Welcome to Yorkshire reported that the town of Halifax had seen a surge in tourists, hot on the trail of the real Anne Lister.

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Her historic home, Shibden Hall, became a production base for Sally Wainwright’s crew during series one, and they’ll soon be filming series two at locations across Yorkshire.

Gentleman Jack has benefited from the groundwork we’ve put in over many years to build up Yorkshire’s production credentials.

Visitors to Yorkshire can find everything from Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Station and Colin Firth’s Secret Garden to regular haunts from Last Tango in Halifax and Channel 
5’s phenomenally successful Yorkshire Vet – our regional screen reel is massive. 

Next month All Creatures Great and Small will return to our screens for a Christmas special.

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When you’re watching veterinarian Herriot go about his business in Darrowby – a magnificently dressed, 1930s version of real-life Grassington – think about all he is doing for Brand Yorkshire.

And let’s hope next year Herriot and our other film and television heroes help draw screen fans to Yorkshire, to do their bit for a regional economic recovery.

Sally Joynson is chief executive of Screen Yorkshire (www.screenyorkshire.co.uk)

The success of Yorkshire’s coast as a TV and film location – The Magazine, Page 10.

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