Filming crews have been back in Bolton with the new series of Alma's Not Normal to ITV's hit drama Ridley being filmed.
Bolton, which has become known as ‘Hollywood of the North’, is used to film television series, adverts and films, with A-list actors often seen in the town.
Here is a round up of some of the TV shows and films Bolton has featured in:
A Gentleman in Moscow
Back in February, Bolton doubled up as Moscow as TV cameras returned to the borough for the star-studded series which includes Ewan McGregor.
The Paramount+ series, is based on a 2016 novel by Amor Towles and set at the time of the Russian Revolution, around 100 years ago.
'A Gentleman in Moscow' follows the fictional Count Alexander Rostov after he is spared execution but sent to the Hotel Metropol on house arrest.
Also in the cast is Mary Elizabeth Winstead, an actor whose own credits include Birds of Prey and Die Hard, and who married Ewan McGregor last year.
Passenger
Earlier this year film crews were spotted in Westhoughton as they filmed for Passenger.
The Mercury Hotel was part of the scenery in the new six-part ITVX horror series.
For the shoot, the motel lounge was transformed into a vintage canteen.
The series marks Andrew's debut as a screenwriter, who is best known for his acting roles on Broadchurch, The Honourable Woman, ABC Murders and most recently Better.
Passenger is produced by the award-winning SISTER and is based on a number of strange and unnatural crimes in a Chadder Vale village, starting with the disappearance of a girl.
Fool Me Once
The popular location of Le Mans Crescent is also showcased in the new Netflix thriller Fool Me Once which stars Michelle Keegan.
Filming also took place around the back of Le Mans Crescent in the cells of the old Bolton Magistrates Court.
Fool Me Once, based on the Harlan Coben novel, follows Maya Stern (Keegan), who is trying to come to terms with the brutal murder of her husband, Joe (Richard Armitage).
But when Maya installs a nanny-cam to keep an eye on her young daughter, she is shocked to see a man she recognises in her house - her dead husband.
It also stars Adeel Akhtar and Joanna Lumley in the new eight-part thriller.
BBC’s The Power of Parker
An area of Hotel Street in Bolton was transformed into a bank and a corner of Victoria Square was taken over by trucks as cast and crew worked on The Power of Parker at the start of this year.
Set in the 1990s, The Power of Parker tracks the titular character, played by Game of Thrones star Conleth Hill, who is a self-made man with a chain of electrical stores to his name.
It tracks his downfall at the hands of those who he has in his rise to success, such as Diane (Rosie Cavaliero), Dougie (George Costigan), Kath (Sian Gibson) and Gladys (Sheila Reid).
Sleepover
Production crews were spotted in Le Mans Crescent on the new drama series Sleepover.
The Bolton News understands the series will follow a group of reporters in and out of an office, chasing and investigating a story.
It includes one young journalist who is chasing a story.
She works for a modern media outlet and is willing to go all out to get a story, the story she is pursuing follows a missing person, full of intrigue and mystery.
Cobra
The political thriller Cobra starring Hollywood actor Robert Carlyle came to screens back in 2020.
The Trainspotting star was spotted filming in Bolton for the six-part Sky One series in the summer of 2019.
The 58-year-old plays prime minister Robert Sutherland in Sky’s political drama.
Cobra follows the British government during a national emergency as the nation loses power, and questions whether a team of Britain’s leading experts, working under the name COBRA, can save society from collapse.
Coronation Street
The popular soap has come to Bolton on many occasion whether that be to film on Le Mans Crescent or inside the old court buildings to film court scenes.
Actors from the soap including Georgia Taylor, better known to Corrie fans as Toyah Battersby and Millie Gibson, who played Kelly Neelan.
Ridley
Ridley has been filming in Bolton for some time and continues to do so as the second series is currently being filmed by production crews.
ITV said back in June that detective drama Ridley would be returning with a new series, and as part of the filming crews have returned to Bolton town centre.
Having previously filmed parts of the first series in Le Mans Crescent and outside the former Bolton Magistrates Court, crews have recently been filming at the back of Cheapside and Mawdsley Street.
The series is written and created by Paul Matthew Thompson, one of the lead writers of ITV detective drama Vera, and co-created by Jonathan Fisher, whose previous projects include Blood, Hollington Drive and Penance.
The first series of Ridley introduced viewers to the charismatic former DI, who retired from the police after years of dedicated service having lost his wife and daughter in a devastating arson attack on their family home.
In the next instalment, Ridley returns to solve more crimes in four two-hour films written by Thompson with Julia Gilbert and Michael Bhim each writing an episode.
Red Rose
This eight-part series, which also aired around the world on Netflix, was filmed predominantly in the town and its surrounding areas.
Paul Clarkson, along with his twin brother Michael, are the show's creators who both grew up in the town and say that the series is a love letter to the borough.
Filming took place in 2021 and crews were spotted in multiple places throughout Bolton.
In the town centre filming took place on Bridge Street, Churchgate, and Le Mans Crescent for its dramatic finale.
Crews also took shots at a quarry near Scouts Road.
They also captured footage at a house on Church Road between Farnworth and Kearsley, as well as sightings at Queens Park and in Westhoughton.
Alma’s Not Normal
Filming is currently underway across Bolton for this new BBC show.
Award-wining Bolton actress Sophie Willan was spotted in her hometown filming the second season of the hit series Alma’s Not Normal.
Production crews were seen with Sophie outside Home Bargains in the town centre as well as Olympus Fish and Chips.
Following the multiple award-winning first series, which was met with huge critical and audience acclaim, it was confirmed last April that Alma’s Not Normal would return to BBC Two and BBC iPlayer for a second series.
Created, written by, starring and executive produced by Sophie, the show centres on a Boltonian wild-child, Alma Nuthall and her family of eccentric, unruly women and was the creation of Sophie in 2018 when she was inaugural winner of the BBC’s Caroline Aherne Bursary Award.
Peaky Blinders
The popular TV series, which is available to watch on Netflix, was filmed in the centre of Bolton.
Le Mans Crescent was the backdrop to many a scene in this six season TV series.
The show follows the Shelby family and their gang, the titular Peaky Blinders.
Many episodes of the show were filmed in Bolton, with fans coming to Le Mans Crescent to spot Cillian Murphy when he was in town.
Cillian, who plays Tommy Shelby, was seen running out of the former Bolton Magistrates Court, down the steps on to the Crescent, which was transformed into a period street scene with vintage cars parked up.
It's a Sin, Nolly
A biopic about the extraordinary life story of actress Noele Gordon, It’s a Sin, Nolly, aired on television earlier this year.
Filming took place in the go to location for producers on Le Mans Crescent, which was transformed into a period set with vintage cars and buses lining the town centre street last May and June.
Bonham Carter was tasked with imitating Noele, who was deemed something of a legend in her own lifetime.
Brassic
The series of a Sky comedy show, that was filmed partly in Bolton, aired back in September.
Brassic is based on the ‘true-life’ misadventures of three-time BAFTA nominated lead actor and co-creator Joe Gilgun, the critically acclaimed Brassic has a signature blend of high comedy and emotional authenticity.
Co-created by writer Danny Brocklehurst the series regular cast includes Michelle Keegan, Dominic West, Tom Hanson, Aaron Heffernan, Ryan Sampson, Parth Thakerar, Bronagh Gallagher, Joanna Higson and Steve Evets.
Locations filmed in Bolton included Kearsley, Bromley Cross and the car park of Turton School.
The Ipcress File
Production crews turned a famous spy novel into a television series with a cast including stars from Peaky Blinders, Black Mirror, and Trainspotting.
The Ipcress File - based on the Len Deighton book which has sold 10 million copies worldwide - inspired the 1965 Michael Caine film of the same name.
Bolton featured in the six-part series with Le Mans Crescent yet again being featured.
The Full Monty
The town was starstruck when much of the main cast – including Steve Huison, Paul Barber, Mark Addy, and Robert Carlyle, who play Lomper, Horse, Dave, and Gaz, respectively, were spotted by Victoria Square in August last year.
Film Crews moved into Victoria Square to film inside the old Specsavers unit in Crompton Place Shopping Centre and could be seen rehearsing scenes.
The series came out on Disney+ earlier this year, and Bolton plays a starring role for an entire episode, with the old Specsavers unit in Crompton Place masquerading as the ‘Sheffield Job Hub’.
Toxic Town
Back in September film crews were seen filming at The Mosley Arms in Breightmet, with crew vehicles parked nearby and fake signage on the outside of the pub.
The show is based on the real-life story of the Corby Poisonings, one of the UK’s biggest environmental scandals.
A story about community, it focuses on three mothers who take on a David and Goliath fight for justice.
Although set in the Northamptonshire town, much of the show is being filmed in the North West, with Hollywood film star Robert Carlyle and former Doctor Who Jodie Whittaker being spotted in Bolton town centre for filming this week.
Ridley Road
Ridley Road, starring Tamzin Outhwaite, Rory Kinnear and Eddie Marsan, is a four-part series based on a novel by Jo Bloom which tells the story of a young Jewish woman who goes undercover at a fascist organisation in sixties London.
The setting will be familiar to viewers in Bolton, with crews having filmed crucial scenes on Le Mans Crescent and Silverwell Street in November 2020, with the familiar locales transformed into stunning recreations of 1960s London.
Happy Valley
Although set in West Yorkshire, the series with Sarah Lancashire came to the town centre and used locations such as Amico Cafe and Market Place shopping centre for scenes.
Film crews were also spotted on Deansgate as well as the outside of Scoopalicious, The Vaults and town centre newsagent Deansgate One Stop Shop which was also seen in the show, with Tommy Lee Royce using it as a cut-through.
The drama has also used Bolton School as the backdrop for some of its scenes previously.
The award-winning drama is set in West Yorkshire in Calder Valley and is also largely shot in the same Valley.
Happy Valley was created by Sally Wainwright and returned for its long-awaited third and final season on New Year’s Day.
And there are even more shows and films filmed in Bolton, with Sylvester Stallone also spotted running up the town hall steps.
Don't miss tomorrow’s paper where we breakdown how much money has been raised through filming and how it benefits the economy.
If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on X @chloewjourno.
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