Liverpool Film Office has released figures showing that 2023 was its busiest year to date with more than 300 films and TV productions shooting in the area.

The Liverpool City Region hosted 301 productions, comprising 1,933 filming days. The subsequent uplift to the local economy was £43.6m with 1,493 full-time equivalent jobs being supported.

Projects to have filmed in the region over the last twelve months include: Paramount’s Sexy Beast, Cobra 3 (New Pictures for Sky), The Responder 2 (BBC from Dancing Ledge), Time 2 (BBC Studios/BBC, pictured above), The Gathering (World Productions for C4), Dead Hot (Quay Street Productions for Amazon), the third series of Mammoth Screen’s The Tower for ITV, VAL’s Such Brave Girls (BBC, pictured below) and Taylor Swift’s pop promo for I Can See You (Taylor’s Version).

And as Liverpool hosted the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine in 2023, the film office – this year celebrating its 35th anniversary – also supported 63 different Eurovision productions filming in the city. 

2023 was also the year that Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet approved a report to accept funding from the BFI under a new skills cluster partnership with North East Screen, Screen Manchester and Screen Yorkshire under Screen Alliance North.

One of the aims of the collaboration is to plug the skills shortage gap by supporting 1,000 new entrants from diverse backgrounds to build a stronger and more inclusive workforce.

New studio The Depot, managed by the film office, hosted Paramount’s Sexy Beast, which wrapped in February following 144 shoot days across the Liverpool City Region.

Head of Liverpool Film Office, Lynn Saunders, said: “As we head into our 35th year, I can honestly say that this year has been a truly ground-breaking year for film and TV production across the Liverpool City Region – from feature films to high-end TV, we have seen it all.

“Year in and out, my team of eight, supported by a team of eight hundred, work to bring production to our region and this has resulted in a fantastic array of projects filming right across Wirral, Halton, Knowsley, St Helens and Sefton.

“Despite the year we’ve had in the Liverpool City Region, we are mindful that the strikes in the US have hit production hard in the UK, particularly for crew and services, many who live in our area.

“With our recent BFI skills cluster partnership with Screen Manchester, North East Screen and Screen Yorkshire, under Screen Alliance North, we will be working to continue to build a thriving and skilled screen workforce in the north and I would urge anyone who is interested in a career in our industry to keep their eyes peeled on our channels early next year for some exciting news.

“Looking to next year, we will be working with our partners on how to generate a more sustainable and skilled screen sector in the north while continuing our efforts to generate and retain even more production in the region.”

Images via BBC.