Set-jetting in West Yorkshire
If West Yorkshire were a film star, its list of credits would surely make it a screen legend.
From 1888 and the first ever moving pictures by Louis Le Prince in Leeds, to 2026 blockbuster ”Wuthering Heights”, the world’s FIRST UNESCO City of Film (Bradford – also home to Europe’s first IMAX screen) and the location of the longest-running live action comedy series in the world (Last of the Summer Wine), this county has consistently played a starring role in TV programmes and films seen all over the world.
Small screen, big impact
Goggleboxers have their pick of locations to choose from TV. They can revisit old and new classic TV series locations including Emmerdale for a pint in the Woolpack; explore PS Catherine Cawood ‘s Happy Valley of Hebden Bridge; time travel to 1830s Halifax with Anne Lister in Gentleman Jack; follow in the footsteps of Nick and Charlie as seen in the culmination of Netflix’s Heartstopper series or rock out like the Riot Women ahead of series 2.
Leading landscapes
The epic, sweeping and industrial West Yorkshire landscape is a major character in films too. Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” heightened emotions in the ‘wild and windy moors’ inspired by the hills around Haworth; Brassed Off starring Ewan McGregor – which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary – showed off the iconic Piece Hall and Wakefield’s National Coal Mining Museum, and Leeds city centre set the scene for Stephen Graham’s The Good Boy. Locations such as Little Germany, Bradford and Saltaire regularly pop up as duplicates for historic locations including post war London (The Crown, Downton Abbey) or 1920s Birmingham (Peaky Blinders) or more generally in classic The Railway Children and, Alan Bennett’s The Choral
Coming Soon
There’s plenty more in the trailers… ‘Coming Soon’ will be Netflix’s Pride and Prejudice starring Emma Corrin (Deadpool & Wolverine, The Crown) and Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Dunkirk) which - rumour has it - will see Harewood House as Pemberley, due for release 3 December 2026. The first of the much anticipated new Narnia series, directed by Greta Gerwig (Barbie, Little Women) is due for release in early 2027 and was filmed in Bradford while director Danny Boyle’s (28 Years Later, Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting) upcoming Ink was shot across Calderdale and opens in UK cinemas on 8 January 2027.
If set-jetting is the aim, then West Yorkshire should be your Final Destination.