SHOP fronts in Saltaire are being dressed in period signage for a major Netflix drama by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

The English Game, a six-part series about the origins of football, will explore how football spanned the class divide when the ‘beautiful game’ was transformed from a hobby to a global sport.

Filming is taking place on Victoria Road, Albert Terrace and surrounding streets in Saltaire.

Sian Watson, who works in the World Heritage Site, said: “They’ve been putting signs up on the shop fronts on Victoria Road, it looks fantastic. I think they’ve built a set in one of the houses.

“There’s a lot of activity. To be honest, we’re getting used to film crews turning up here. There’s so much history on every street, it’s already like a film set. I’m not surprised film crews love it so much.

“It’s a busy village, where people live, work and study, but I think people are respectful of the filming here. We just let them get on with it. Working in a World Heritage Site, you respect it and have pride in it. I think it’s great that programmes like this are putting Saltaire on an international map.”

Last month a letter by film-makers Nutmeg (42) Ltd was sent to Saltaire residents to say that filming would take place in a house on Titus Street, where actors were to be dressed as mill-workers.

Other scenes for the drama have been shot at Little Germany, where horses and carriages and actors in Victorian costume were spotted on Cater Street. A letter to residents and businesses in Little Germany said: “Written by Julian Fellowes, The English Game is a dramatic adaptation of a true story set in 1879, and centres on a young Glaswegian football player who moves to Darwen in order to play for the local team, amidst challenging industrial unrest.

“The production is being undertaken with full support from Bradford City of Film. We are all truly thrilled to feature such an architecturally stunning location in our production.”

The English Game is to launch on Netflix in 2020. The cast includes Kingsman actor Edward Holcroft and Kevin Guthrie who was in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

This year Bradford celebrates 10 years as the world's first UNESCO City of Film.

City of Film director David Wilson said: "I was in Saltaire yesterday visiting the production and it was a lovely almost festival atmosphere. I spoke to a number of business owners, residents and college students who were all excited about the production  and the possibility of seeing Saltaire turned back in time.

"The cafes were very busy and many of the cast and crew are staying locally so there is an obvious immediate impact on the local economy." 

Other TV dramas which have filmed in Saltaire include The ABC Murders, starring John Malkovich, and Gentleman Jack in which Suranne Jones plays Halifax landowner Anne Lister. Filming for the new Sally Wainwright drama also took place in Little Germany last summer. The eight-part series starts on BBC1 on Sunday at 9pm.