Liverpool City Region’s film and TV industry is celebrating record-breaking growth, with more than 1,600 productions generating £150 million for the local economy and supporting over 5,000 jobs since 2019.
Already recognised as the UK’s most filmed area outside London, the city region continues to attract major blockbuster and high-end television productions including The Batman, Clayface and House of Guinness, drawn by its unique architecture, versatile locations and film-friendly approach.
New figures published in the Liverpool Film Office’s Impact Report (2019–2025) highlight the sector’s transformational impact across the region. The report reveals that 5,408 full-time equivalent roles have been created, while hundreds of local businesses – from hospitality and construction to creative freelancers – have benefitted from the boom in screen production.
Investment in high-end production facilities since 2019 has strengthened Liverpool’s offer even further, helping to retain film and TV makers beyond location shoots and driving forward ambitions to position the region as the “Hollywood of the North”.
A key driver behind this success has been the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s £2.8 million LCR Production Fund. Launched in 2019, the fund has significantly increased the number, scale and range of feature films and scripted television projects choosing to base themselves in the area.
Among the 10 supported productions are acclaimed dramas including This City Is Ours, The Responder and Time. Collectively, these productions have secured 19 major industry awards – including four BAFTAs and two International Emmys – while contributing £24.5 million to the local economy. They have also created 861 indirect full-time equivalent jobs and provided 56 trainee roles, helping to nurture the next generation of regional screen talent.
What began as a fund designed to attract productions has evolved into a catalyst for long-term sector development. Production hubs are now thriving across all six boroughs of the city region – Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral – embedding film and television at the heart of the local economy.
With global productions continuing to choose Liverpool City Region as their backdrop, the future for the region’s screen industry looks brighter than ever.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said:
“The LCR Production Fund isn’t just bringing millions into our local economy – it’s opening doors for local people, giving them lifechanging opportunities and helping them get a foot in the door of industry. This is why we’ve backed projects like This City Is Ours – alongside the world class talent and infrastructure we’ve got here, we’re making sure our region is always in the conversation when it comes to making high-quality productions.”
Managed by Liverpool Film Office with funding from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, development of The Depot – two purpose-built 20,000 ft² sound stages off Liverpool’s Edge Lane – has massively enhanced Liverpool’s production capacity.
Since its launch in 2021, The Depot has generated £29.1m in GVA* for the Liverpool City Region economy whilst encouraging broader industry development. The report highlights 15 new businesses which have either started up or expanded into the city region as a direct result of The Depot.
The next chapter includes the creation of the adjacent Littlewoods Studio Campus featuring six world-class sound stages, ScreenLab Liverpool and post-production facilities. The project is expected to create 3,200 new jobs and generate £170m GVA, while providing education and training for young people in one of the UK’s most deprived areas.
The scale of filming across the Liverpool City Region has also created a need for skills development and community engagement to support productions.
With National Lottery funding from the British Film Institute (BFI), LFO’s Action! skills programme offers free training and career development for people outside of further and higher education wanting to get into the screen industry. It has delivered 183 training opportunities and created 271 paid work opportunities with three-quarters finding employment on completion in departments across the industry such as camera, make up and locations.
It joins Screen Alliance North, a British Film Institute skills cluster made up of Liverpool Film Office, North East Screen, Screen Manchester and Screen Yorkshire which is engaging with thousands of people to create a skilled production workforce across the North of England.
Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council said:
“The last few years have marked a transformative chapter in Liverpool Film Office’s history, but this is just the beginning.
“Not only has it put us on the map as the go-to filming location outside the capital, but it has also delivered significant opportunity for, and investment in, our people and our communities.
“Looking to the future, the screen industry will continue be a powerful tool for economic regeneration, skills development, and community engagement throughout our city.”
Lynn Saunders, Head of the Liverpool Film Office said:
“We have a commitment to economic regeneration, skills development, community engagement, and sustainable growth, with plans to further elevate Liverpool’s role in the UK’s screen industry.
We have shown remarkable adaptability and growth, particularly given the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic. We rose to those challenges. The Batman was the first UK production to resume filming in a city setting during Covid and our work established comprehensive Covid safety protocols that became industry standard.”
Please find the full Liverpool Film Office 2019-2025 Impact Report here.
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