Value of film and TV productions to Edinburgh soars to record levels

The overall figure of £23.8 million was up more than £10 million in the space of 12 months

Whoopi Goldberg has been cast as Bird Woman in the Amazon series Anansi Boys.

Streaming giants and new studio facilities have helped boost the value of film and TV productions to Edinburgh to record levels.

Filming in and around the city last year is now worth nearly £24 million for the economy, according to an official report on the impact of the sector.

The record tally, more than £8 million higher than the previous record, has been attributed to the impact of the new studios in Leith and Bathgate, and the number of drama series now being made in the city.

Jamie Sives and Mark Bonnar are reunited for a final time in the third series of Guilt. Picture: BBC/Expectation/Happy Tramp North

The value of the industry is estimated to be well over four times what it was a decade ago, when the city relied on attracting major film productions to shoot on location.

It is hoped that a pilot project launched in nine high schools in the capital to encourage pupils to consider a career in the industry will be rolled out to all the others over the next year.

The new research was compiled by Film Edinburgh, Edinburgh City Council’s film office, which advises and coordinates film and TV productions in the city, as well as in East Lothian and the Borders.

The biggest productions included the Amazon series Anansi Boys, which was based in the Leith studio, the Amazon series Good Omens and Apple TV period drama Debutante, both of which used the Bathgate facility, and a new Netflix series based the novel One Day, which used various locations around the city, and crime drama Six-Four, which starred Kevin McKidd.

Saoirse Ronan will lead the cast of the feature film The Outrun.

Also shot on location were the latest series of Outlander, Guilt and Crime, the feature film adaptation of the novel The Outrun, and Midtown, a new Netflix feature film about a group of black superheroes and Payback, a new ITV drama starring Morven Christie.

The total tally of 225 productions also included a Harry Potter documentary, a new video made by The Proclaimers, a Mary Berry cookery show and a documentary fronted by Frankie Boyle.

However more than £22 million was generated by just 18 film and drama productions, which shot for 286 days in total throughout 2022.

The overall figure of £23.8 million was up more than £10 million in the space of 12 months.

The seventh series of Outlander, which stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe, was partly filmed in Edinburgh.

The previous record for estimated economic benefit was notched up in 2017, when £15.6 million was generated.

Around £10 million of that was down to an extended shoot for Avengers: Infinity War, the first production to make use of a former wave power plant in Leith, which has since been turned into a full-time studio complex and used for the Amazon series The Rig and Anansi Boys, as well as The Outrun. The Leith studio is being used again for a second series of The Rig.

Locations used for filming on Anansi Boys, which stars Whoopi Golderg, included Le Monde, the Cameo Cinema, Mortonhall Crematorium, Edinburgh Academy Junior School, Hopetoun House Estate, Edinburgh Gateway railway station and Newhaven Harbour.

Edinburgh University’s Old College, Arthur’s Seat, Viewforth, Circus Place, St Vincent Street, The Vennel and the Grassmarket were all deployed for One Day.

Kevin McKidd stars in the drama series Six Four, which was partly filmed in Edinburgh. Picture: Mark Mainz

The second series of Crime visited Calton Hill, the Rodney Street Tunnel, Inverleith Park, Princes Street Gardens, the Dean Village, Castle Terrace, Grindlay Street, Calton Rd, the Hawes Pier and the Dalmeny Estate, while the Signet Library, the French Consulate, Parliament Square and George Square were used for the final series of Guilt.

Around 100 full-time jobs were said to be supported at the Leith and Bathgate studios last year while the number of crews registered with Film Edinburgh soared by 17 per cent in the space of 12 months, to 452.

Rosie Ellison, film commissioner at Film Edinburgh, highlighted research published earlier this year which found that streaming services and major production studios were now responsible for 92 per cent of the £6.27 billion value of the UK-wide industry.

She said: “Edinburgh’s experience as a filming destination, coupled with the establishment of dedicated film studios in Leith and in Bathgate put the city in an even better position to attract a greater share of UK production activity.

"The outlook for 2023 is positive with continued demand for the film studios, as well as locations in the city.

"We will continue to encourage film and television productions to locate in Edinburgh in line with our film charter and code of practice for filming.

Lenny Henry, left, Whoopi Goldberg,  centre, and Neil Gaiman, right, recorded a message for fans from the set of Anansi Boys in Leith.

"The long-lasting benefits of filming in the city extend, beyond the direct investment of a film production into the local economy, to the on-screen promotion of the city to local, regional, UK and worldwide audiences, with recognised positive impact for the tourism and hospitality industry, as well as civic and business pride in association with a successful film and television production."

Councillor Val Walker, culture convener at the city council, said: “This has been the greatest economic impact from filming that the city region has ever recorded.

"This of course reflects the direct impact of having two film studios in the city region and growing interest from streaming services productions.

“It is a source of real pride that Edinburgh attracts these kinds of projects, that we continue to have a positive reputation as a filming destination and are seeing the welcome impact filming is having on our economy. The interest looks set to continue in 2023, both in the studios and in our beautiful capital city as a location.”

A spokeswoman for government agency Screen Scotland said: “These are fantastic figures and a real reflection of the hard work of Film Edinburgh working in partnership with Screen Scotland’s screen commission and other agencies to facilitate high volumes of production and working alongside our world-class Scottish crews and production services.

“The momentum we have seen in the sector has been underpinned by funding support for Screen Scotland’s strategy from local authorities, Scottish Government and the National Lottery.

“It is vital this continues as we build towards delivering a sustainable and more resilient screen industry for Scotland which remains internationally competitive.”