Manchester Film & TV Map

Dale Street runs through the Northern Quarter and any New York resident might feel quite at home here. This is Blockbuster movie territory, where Captain America, as played by Chris Evans, was filmed running from an underground laboratory after being injected with his superhuman serum in The First Avenger. 1942 Brooklyn, brought to life by a skilled production design team, delighted fans around the world who little suspected that their hero was here in Manchester. 

A busy area when it comes to TV production, Dale Street and its characterful surroundings – including Paton Street and China Lane – have featured in a wide array of popular movies and TV programmes including Russell T Davies' multi-award winning It’s a Sin, cult BBC series Domino Day which took a trip down Back Piccadilly to shoot some thrilling scenes, and Netflix historical drama House of Guinness which transformed it into the nineteenth century, complete with market stalls and a dirt road.  

The list goes on and continues to grow as producers worldwide catch on to the fact that this destination delivers what they need to make incredible things happen on screen. 

If Stevenson Square looks familiar – particularly to fans of The Crown – that could well be because the location was transformed for a few days into a steamy, 1980s power-suited Manhattan where Princess Diana took her first official trip without Prince Charles to New York. 

This super-trendy part of town welcomed CC: Emily, which set up a production base around the square. Cast and crew were spotted regularly on nearby Thomas and Tib Street, while the iconic Band on the Wall nearby also played host, staging queues waiting for a pivotal gig scene. 

Closer to home, fans of BBC series The A Word may recall Joe's move to Manchester from the Lake District. The young neurodiverse boy was filmed around the square coming to terms with the buzz of the city after the relative calm of his life in peaceful Cumbria. And for Jared Leto fans out there, much of Morbius was also filmed on the square, once again masquerading as Manhattan, or "Manc-hattan" as it has become known in film circles. 

As you turn into Albert Square, you will immediately be impressed by the stately Town Hall, a Grade I listed building completed in 1877. Majestic and imposing, it has unsurprisingly, on more than one occasion, been sought out to double as London's Houses of Parliament and it is easy to understand why this stunningly beautiful building has become so popular with international filmmakers. 

Robert Downey Jr. played Sherlock Holmes here back in 2009, walking the gothic corridors alongside Jude Law as Watson; then in 2015, Daniel Radcliffe strolled across the Hall’s Albert Square as Igor in Victor Frankenstein. However, arguably Manchester Town Hall’s most celebrated guest was the cream of Hollywood royalty, Meryl Streep, who debated here as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady in 2011. Reportedly, she and the cast stopped filming at one point to applaud the bride and groom at a wedding being held in the hall. 

Just a short walk from the city centre is leafy Castlefield, a neighbourhood that showcases a perfect blend of historic and modern Manchester. Canals run through the area where the ruined Roman fort of Mamucium, from which the city takes its name, can be found.  

This varied urban landscape has played host to many productions, most famously perhaps the global phenomenon, Peaky Blinders. In the series Tommy Shelby and family are often seen stalking the streets of Birmingham's Small Heath, recreated here in Castlefield including the infamous Garrison pub which has been central to momentous storylines. 

Other recent hits filmed in and around Castlefield include Fool Me Once starring Stockport's own Michelle Keegan, and the local writer Peter Bowker's epic wartime series, World on Fire which starred Sean Bean. Comedy fans might also recall John Thomson in a dramatic canal rescue scene in the ever-popular Cold Feet, and who could forget when Coronation Street baddie Richard Hillman took the Platt family for a drive headed for the murky waters of Weatherfield. 

Undoubtedly one of the city's most vibrant areas, Canal Street sits at the epicentre of Manchester's iconic Village, and it’s no exaggeration to claim that 1999's TV classic, Queer as Folk helped put this part of town firmly on the global LGBTQ+ map. As you saunter along the cobbles or enjoy a canal-side drink you will capture a hint of the atmosphere of the high-energy and much-loved drama starring Charlie Hunnam, Aidan Gillen, and Craig Kelly as three young residents finding their way in turn-of-the-Millennium Manchester. Can we ever expect a reunion of the three heroes? Charlie Hunnam, now a bona fide Hollywood star has said in the past that he would be game for a reunion; fans worldwide live in hope. 

Queer as Folk writer and showrunner Russell T Davies has since gone on to set many a scene in and around the Village in his more recent work including 2021's It's a Sin, the touching exploration of life during the height of the AIDS pandemic; dystopian science fiction miniseries Years and Years; and his triptych Cucumber, Banana, and Tofu dealing with various complications of LGBTQ+ life.   

Located on Manchester's longest street, Deansgate, the John Rylands Research Institute and Library is a must-visit. This late-Victorian Gothic-style building is Manchester’s own answer to Hogwarts, which begs the question why Warner Bros. made Harry Potter in a studio when a perfect version of the fictional school was ready and waiting in Manchester to welcome Harry, Ron, and Hermione. 

Perhaps most famously it was here that Gary Oldman – Harry Potter’s very own Sirius Black – assumed the role of the young Winston Churchill during his early years as Prime Minister in Darkest Hour. Once again, Manchester provided an ideal double for London’s Houses of Parliament, in this case as Westminster’s library. Oldman, who spent many days filming here, went on to win the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2018. More recently, Sienna Miller played a politician's wife here in Anatomy of a Scandal during another magnificent transformation into the heart of the British Government. 

A short walk from the city, but well worth a visit is Victoria Baths, previously one of Britain’s finest historic municipal swimming pools, and now an events, cultural, and community venue. From the iconic green tiles and exquisite stained glass to the vaulted ceilings and stunning mosaics, its charms have attracted the attention of producers, production designers, location managers, and directors from across the world who have utilised the Baths as a striking backdrop for a varied selection of films and TV programmes, many of which, unsurprisingly, take a step back into history.  

Children's favourite Dodger, which told the story of The Artful Dodger before Oliver Twist arrived on the scene, found a perfect Dickensian setting for Fagin, Nancy, Bill Sikes, and their gang of young thieves fighting for survival in London's lawless Victorian East End. Production designer Dave Ferris recreated London's famous Rules Restaurant - an upmarket venue and target for the Eastend vagabonds – in the Baths. 

Another production that benefited from the beauty of the Baths was 2024's A Gentleman in Moscow. Set in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Ewan McGregor stars as Count Alexander Rostov, who is spared immediate execution but banished by a Soviet tribunal to an attic room in the opulent Hotel Metropol and threatened with death if he ever sets foot outside.  

On your visit here, allow yourself to drink in the grandeur of the Russian capital and Dickens' London as captured on screen, but don't close your mind to some altogether more modern stories that have been told here including Brassic, Cold Feet, and Life on Mars. 

Amidst a city centre landscape populated by buildings of varying architectural styles, ‘the Pev’ is a public house that, on first sight, cries out to be explored. The pub was built in 1820 and its brightly coloured tiled exterior stands in stark contrast to more muted surroundings. The polished wood interior is intimate and the perfect place for a cosy date, which is how the pub made its appearance in Fool Me Once, in a scene when DS Sami Kierce and his fiancé share a drink. 

Your own investigative powers might also detect that crime classics have favoured this particular hostelry. Cracker, which starred Salfordian Christopher Eccleston alongside the late Robbie Coltrane, played scenes here, as did the more recent popular police procedural hit, The Bay, and the 2017 television spin-off for Guy Ritchie’s gripping gangster comedy Snatch.  

Of course, Manchester boasts many iconic pubs, all well worth a visit, including the most famous: Coronation Street’s The Rovers Return. There’s also The Star and Garter which takes a lead role in Brassic, and Salford’s The Kings Arms, which acts as a frequent watering hole for students of Fresh Meat, led by Jack Whitehall. 

A few minutes’ walk from The Village you will find yourself on Harter Street, once home to the legendary Continental Club which sat amidst warehouses and offices in an area that was a hive of industry and commerce in early 20th Century Manchester. Now many of these imposing buildings house luxury apartments and warehouse dwellings, lending itself, once again, to capturing the appearance and spirit of other far-flung locations. 

Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Guy Pearce, and Jude Law took over Harter Street in 2016 for Genius, which was dressed to capture the look and feel of New York in the 1900s. Firth played Max Perkins, the editor at publisher Scribner who helped produce some of the 20th Century’s most famous novels by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. 

Unsurprisingly, the Shelby family found their way to Harter Street where they created the sort of Peaky Blinders action that only they could, and political thriller COBRA, which starred Robert Carlyle, also spent time on this unassuming street that has the ability to metamorphose in a way its architects could never have imagined. 

If the weather is fair and you fancy stopping off for an al fresco lunch break, take a trip to St John's Gardens which can be found just off Quay Street, the original home of Coronation Street and Granada Studios, where The Beatles’ first television performance was recorded in 1962. 

In more recent times its charms have seduced film and TV producers. Supernatural drama Domino Day creators chose the gardens for calmer moments, including a picnic scene, where romance might thrive in contrast to the darker scenes amidst the buzzing nightlife in bars and clubs. A dramatisation of Dolly Alderton's fictionalised memoir, Everything I Know About Love, also shot romance scenes here doubling as Camden, London.    

Manchester has no shortage of green and open spaces, so, if time allows, you could explore further afield. Platt Fields Park is worth a visit and fans of No Offence might well recognise it as a location where a series of dramatic stunts were filmed, involving a case of mistaken identity and two of the series’ star police officers. Meanwhile, if stately homes are your thing, hop on the tram to Heaton Hall which provided settings for A Gentleman in Moscow, Bancroft and It’s a Sin or Wythenshawe Hall, where some key moments of supernatural crime series, The Rising were captured. 

Vibrant, colourful, and welcoming with the ever-present aroma of culinary delights – there are so many reasons to visit Chinatown. Built on a grid system, largely in Manchester's iconic red brick, the energy of the area has proven to be catnip for filmmakers searching for a setting full of character and atmosphere of the sort that can lift a good scene into a great and memorable one.  

Movie stars that have recently strolled along the sidewalks of Faulkner and Chain Streets include Bill Nighy, Alexandra Roach, and Sam Claflin when filming a dramatisation of Harlan Coben's novel, Lazarus. For the production, the city was transformed into a haze of rain and fog, which was – ironically for Manchester – created with special effects, due to a particularly good spell of unexpectedly fine weather! 

Coronation Street, Tina and Bobby, The Stranger, and Ridley are just a few of the popular programmes that have occupied corners of Ancoats, recently revamped to become one of Manchester's most happening neighbourhoods.  

The restaurants and bars around Cutting Room Square provide the perfect backdrop to capture the atmosphere of a thriving, upwardly mobile modern cityscape. Yet, it was on nearby Anita Street where the story of Tina and Bobby Moore – football’s first-ever golden couple – played out; perfectly capturing the style of the Swinging Sixties against a backdrop of quaint red brick two-up, two-downs. It isn’t Weatherfield; however, residents of Salford’s most famous fictional street do also often shoot scenes here when a trip to town is required. 

Also in the area, The Royal Mills apartment building was, in its early life, a cotton mill and one of many examples of Manchester’s wonderful ability to repurpose old buildings, bringing them back to life in the present and into the future. Great excitement ensued here when an all-star cast including Richard Armitage, Siobhan Finneran, and Jennifer Saunders were spotted filming hit thriller, The Stranger in the streets, bars, and cafés around the area, including Ancoats Coffee Company.   

The Hollywood of the North extends far beyond Manchester city centre. In fact, Bolton was one of the first places to lay claim to the title and hardly a day goes by when a famous face isn’t seen in town - Sylvester Stallone was once spotted running up the Town Hall steps filming a bread advert!  

More recently, Boltonian Sophie Willan has created and stars in the BAFTA-winning comedy Alma's Not Normal. At times hard-hitting and gritty, lighter moments capture Alma passing the town's iconic architecture and green spaces on her moped. No surprise then that Le Mans Crescent, perhaps Bolton's most recognisable landmark, has grabbed a starring role.  

Nolly, the story of TV legend Noele Gordon, starring Helena Bonham Carter, was also filmed in Le Mans Crescent which was transformed into a period set with vintage cars and buses lining the streets. Bolton’s Courthouse welcomed the fantastic Sarah Lancashire-fronted Happy Valley, whilst national treasure Joanna Lumley was spotted in town during the filming of Fool Me Once’s opening scenes at Bolton School. Cinema classic The Full Monty should, of course, never be left off the list of productions that found a home in Bolton. 

Heading south-west of Manchester will deliver you to Stockport, a town rich in diverse backdrops including Medieval streets, Victorian mills, iconic 1960s architecture, and ultramodern office developments; the town is unsurprisingly popular as a destination for location scouts and has become a port of call for a range of genres.   

From The Power of Parker, a sitcom set in Stockport about a self-made man struggling to keep his head above water, to dramas including The Tower, Years and Years, and Traces; it seems there is a corner of town suited to every look and feel required by those who make magic happen. Stockport actress Aimee Lou Wood loved returning to her hometown in comedy series Daddy Issues which filmed in The Market Place and Underbanks in The Old Town.  

Of course, MediaCity in Salford is well-known as a world-class production site, home to the working set for Coronation Street, which you can visit, as well as the BBC at MediaCity where countless live TV broadcasts come from including flagship programming BBC Breakfast, Blue Peter, Match of the Day, and many more. National commercial broadcaster ITV and countless production companies – who make some of the North’s best drama and comedies – also have a home at MediaCity. 

Where’s next for film and TV production in Greater Manchester? All fingers point towards the northern borough of Rochdale which has already hosted BBC crime drama, The Jetty on Hollingworth Lake, the Shelbys at Rochdale Town Hall, and is reportedly set to star in many other productions over the coming years.