UK TV production rebounds to hit new record after pandemic slump

LONDON – A record £4bn was spent making TV shows in the UK in the past year, almost double the figure before the pandemic. TV production slumped during lockdown but rebounded to a new high between October 2020 and September 2021, the British Film Institute (BFI) has said. Some £4.14bn was spent filming British and foreign shows like Bridgerton and Peaky Blinders in the UK in that time. That compares with the £2.3bn spent in the same period in 2018-19, and is 10 times more than was spent in 2013.

The latest figure includes money spent by Brit­ish TV channels on home-made series like Doc­tor Who, The Bay, Shetland and Ghosts. It also includes forthcoming streaming shows like The Essex Serpent from Apple TV+, Andor from Dis­ney+ and Netflix productions like The Sandman and the new series of Bridgerton. Netflix alone spent £740m making 60 TV shows and films in the UK in 2020, the BFI said, and has recently announced plans to double the size of its base at Shepperton Studios in Surrey. Amazon is also moving production of its epic Lord of the Rings series from New Zealand to the UK.