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Film and television production in Bristol has generated more than £20m for the local economy in the last financial year, new figures show. The sum is a 22% increase on pre-pandemic figures and the largest contribution that filming-related activity has made towards Bristol’s economy in a decade, the Bristol Film Office said.

Shows including Am I Being Unreasonable?, The Outlaws, Chloe, Showtrial and The Girl Before are just some of the screen hits made in Bristol which contributed towards the total revenue.

The amount of filming that took place in the city was up by 10%, with 1,067 filming days carried out at the Bristol City Council-owned Bottle Yard Studios and/or on location assisted by Bristol Film Office. A total of 709 licences were issued by Bristol Film Office, permitting filming to take place on council-owned streets, properties and green spaces.

The 2021-2022 figures are the first annual stats released by Bristol Film Office that illustrate an uninterrupted 12-month period of post-pandemic recovery for Bristol film and TV production. The previous year’s annual total of £12.6m was lower than preceding years due to the three-month pause in production enforced in the first Covid-19 lockdown.

Senior film manager at Bristol City Council Laura Aviles, who oversees Bristol Film Office and The Bottle Yard Studios, said the figures paint "an extremely healthy picture for Bristol’s thriving film and TV sector".

She said: “The numbers were no surprise to our Film Office and Bottle Yard staff. We knew that production had kicked back into gear quickly after the production pause during the first lockdown in 2020. Since then, our teams have been busier than ever supporting productions on the ground. The skilled crew, companies and facilities we work alongside, all play a vital role in making Bristol one of the most film-friendly cities in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.”

The news comes ahead of the opening of Bottle Yard’s new £12m facility this autumn. TBY2 is being built on an industrial site in South Bristol and will have three sound stages - 20,000 sq ft, 16,500 sq ft and 7,000 sq ft. More than 40,000 sq ft of ancillary space is also being built, including serviced production offices, prop stores, construction workshops, costume and makeup, and break-out areas.

Operations at the original Bottle Yard site have also been boosted by a further £1.6m investment by Bristol City Council in renewal and repair works. Overall, the investment in the main Studios and new TBY2 site is expected to create around 1,000 jobs over the next 10 years, supported by a Workforce Development Programme focused on high-end TV skills and targeting development of new talent in South Bristol.