Bristol residents (majority of which were teenage girls) gathered outside the Colston Hall last month, all of which attempting to capture a glance of Sherlock stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. With a suspected Christmas special in the making, Bristol once again became a set location for the extremely popular TV show.
Even though actually capturing a glimpse of a star of a movie or TV show is rare and difficult it is still exciting to know that this city that we love has been chosen to be the set of some famous TV programmes and films; so we have been looking into what has been filmed in Bristol over the years, who knew so many famous people had filmed here!
TV Shows
First of which and probably very famously filmed in Bristol is of course Casualty. The popular medical drama was filmed in an old warehouse in St Philips (Also where Smarts Quarter is located!) and other outdoor areas across Bristol for over 20 years.
If you love supernatural drama-comedy then you surely have watched Being Human. A popular BBC Three show centralized around 3 house mates in Bristol who try to all live normal lives even though they are a ghost, werewolf and vampire. The home of the three main characters was located in Totterdown, along with many other Bristol locations being used throughout the show.
Moving on to another supernatural show that has been a family favourite for over 30 years, Doctor Who has also chosen Bristol as a set a Christmas special. Back in 2012 Corn Street and St Nicholas Market were transformed into a Victorian winter wonderland for the filming of the Doctor Who episode ‘The Snowman’ snow was trying to evolve and feed on the nightmares of a little girl.
On a slightly less serious note than snowmen feeding on nightmares we turn to the classic British comedy series, Only Fools and Horses. The exterior of the famous Nelson Mandela house was filmed at a housing estate in Bedminster and on top of that one of the most famous episodes, ‘Heroes and Villains’, where Del Boy and Rodney run down the street dressed as Batman and Robin was actually filmed in Broadmead in the central Bristol. Got to love a bit of Only Fools and Horses!
And from skin tight lycra costumes to Skins, the E4 drama that followed the story of a group of Bristol teenagers through their two years of sixth form. The show which ran until 2013 was filmed in locations all over Bristol.
Finally for those of you who like Sex and the City then Bristol had its very own, maybe not so glamorous, version Mistresses. Airing for three series the show followed four female friends and their array of illicit and complex relationships.
These are just a few selected from a much longer list of shows that been filmed in Bristol over the years. But not only has Bristol played host to stars David Jason, Sarah Parish and Matt Smith but also some Hollywood greats in a collection of movies.
Films
The first film we found that was filmed in Bristol was The Truth About Love (2007); the romantic comedy which starred Jennifer Love Hewitt, Dougray Scott and Jimi Mistry was filmed in multiple locations in Bristol including Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol Temple Meads Station, Bristol Central Library and Clifton.
Another film that used Clifton as one of their set locations was Starter for Ten (2006). With a whole host of celebs including James McAvoy, Alice Eve, James Corden, Benedict Cumberbatch and Catherine Tate, the story follows James McAvoy’s character as his navigates his first year Bristol University. Of course amongst the list of Bristol set locations was Bristol University, as well as Temple Meads Station and the Bristol University Students Union.
Moving away from the more recent films we found that Bristol was the set location for Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990) which stars Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman, yes ladies and gentleman Alan Rickman has filmed in Bristol, at least he didn’t take any of our Bristolians hostage in this movie.
And finally Bristol got a taste of aristocracy when The Duchess (2008), which stars Hollywood sensations Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes, used the Old Vic Theatre as the set for part of the movie.
Bristol certainly has played a welcoming host too many great TV programmes and movies across the years and there is no doubt that Bristol locations will be chosen once again as sets in the future.
If you would like to be able to say Casualty was filmed down the road from my house then why not contact us today on 0117 213 0151 to find out more about our luxury Smarts Quarter apartments and maisonettes.
