ONE of the things Bradford can be very proud of is its film history, spanning more than 100 years, and its status as the world’s first UNESCO City of Film.

And, thanks largely to the City of Film team, which has worked hard to attract film-makers, Bradford is increasingly becoming a go-to district for location filming.

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Much of the appeal is its diverse landscape and historic architecture.

In recent weeks two big budget period dramas, Gunpowder and Peaky Blinders, have filmed at locations, including Saltaire and Dalton Mills in Keighley, and earlier this year scenes for 1970s-set comedy-drama Funny Cow were shot in Shipley.

Over the past few years many films and television dramas have been filmed in the district, including To Walk Invisible, The Moorside and The Great Train Robbery. Emmerdale and Coronation Street regularly film at City Hall.

As City of Film director David Wilson says, it all has a positive impact on the local economy. While production companies are in town - sometimes for several months - they put up cast and crew in hotels and apartments, and use local shops, bars, restaurants, gyms and other facilities.

And the City of Film team uses local businesses for services such as transport, catering, parking and on-set staff for film companies. Their feedback, says Mr Wilson, is very positive and he is confident that producers and technical crews will continue to regularly return to the district.

Now that can only be good news for Bradford businesses.