Netflix, ITV and BBC shows earn Hemel Hempstead £ 100,000

A tip has received around £ 100,000 in the past six months due to a town being used for the filming of major TV series.

Hemel Hempstead has been the setting for shows including ITV’s Grantchester and two Netflix series: After Life and Ricky Gervais’ Masters of the Air.

Part of the revenue will finance a new role to coordinate recovery activities.

Dacorum Borough Council said it wanted to prove itself as a “positive filming authority”.

So far this year, locals have seen Marlowes in the city center transformed into 1970s Huddersfield for a biopic about the Sex Pistols.

In September, Hemel Hempstead’s Old Town was transformed into the setting for Masters of the Air, a new WWII series from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

Robson Green was spotted in the Old Town in August, while filming also took place on the latest series of the crime film Grantchester.

In May, Gervais was seen shooting Hemel Hempstead for the third series of After Life, when a funfair appeared in Gadebridge Park.

At the time of filming Gervais, a council spokesperson said the crews were “taking advantage of the many fantastic filming locations Dacorum has to offer.”

He said it had become more popular due to its proximity to London.

A request for freedom of information from Local democracy reporting service found that between April and October of this year, £ 99,500 was collected from shooting costs on land owned or managed by the municipality. This is comparable to £ 64,660 for the full 2018/2019 financial year, the last full year not affected by the blocks.

The authority could not disclose a breakdown for each project for commercial reasons, but confirmed that Grantchester, After Life, Masters of the Air and BBC Three’s Ladhood collectively generated £ 71,765 in 2021/22.

The board has now hired an officer to facilitate recovery projects and work with businesses to coordinate activities and develop recovery protocols to address any local issues.

“We want to show that Dacorum is positive shooting advice,” a spokesperson said.

“Having a point of contact to manage these relationships will ensure that residents and businesses can be better informed in the future.”

The council added that there was a “range of benefits” to supporting the shoot.

“Encouraging the use of local locations and the use of local activities and services will bring economic benefits to the area,” he said.

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