BRADFORD’S many film and TV locations have a starring role in a new website launched by Screen Yorkshire, enabling viewers to take a virtual tour of scenes.

City Hall, Little Germany, Saltaire, and the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway are among the Yorkshire locations featured on the website.

Some locations, including Skipton’s Broughton Hall and Bolton Abbey, appear in Channel 5’s hit new version of All Creatures Great and Small, filmed largely in Craven, with youngsters from Bradford theatre school Articulate in the cast. The Dales village of Grassington is used as the fictional village of Darrowby, where James, Siegfried and Tristan have their vets’ practice.

The Filmed in Yorkshire website takes you to an interactive map. Magnifying glass icons show where major film and TV productions, such as Gentleman Jack and Peaky Blinders, were filmed. Click again for location shots and more information about scenes filmed and where.

All Creatures Great and Small locations include The Devonshire Inn in Grassington, which doubles as Herriot’s local, The Drovers Arms; pretty Dales village Malham - “The dramatic limestone pavement just above Malham Cove is also a recognisable location from productions such as Wuthering Heights, Harry Potter and The Trip,” Screen Yorkshire says - and Ripon racecourse which appears in Episode 3 when Siegfried Farnon attends to an injured racehorse.

Other TV and film locations featured include Saltaire, where Netflix drama The English Games and Maxine Peake film Funny Cow where filmed; Little Germany where scenes for hit period drama Gentleman Jack and the films Downton Abbey and Testament of Youth were shot; City Hall, used for Peaky Blinders, Victoria and The Duke, starring Dame Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent, and Oakwell Hall at Birstall, another location for Gentleman Jack as well as TV’s Wuthering Heights and Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

Screen Yorkshire, which financed the new All Creatures Great And Small, launched its website this week, taking advantage of the show’s huge popularity. The hope is that as well as enabling fans to see locations online, it will encourage people to visit, giving the district’s tourist industry a much-needed boost. “We’ve had to move fast to get this site up-and-running but there’s never been a more important time to drive new business to the region,” says Screen Yorkshire chief executive Sally Joynson. “We want to do our bit to help Yorkshire’s visitor economy, where better to start than the fantastic locations which appear on our screens and are open to the public?”

Film and TV are big-budget industries in Yorkshire, with budgets for high-end TV dramas and feature films averaging between £10m and £20m per project. Recent productions filmed in the districtwith Screen Yorkshire’s support include: All Creatures Great and Small, The Duke, Gentleman Jack, The English Game, Downton Abbey, Ali & Ava, Peaky Blinders, Ackley Bridge, Emmerdale, Last Tango In Halifax, Victoria and Official Secrets.

Screen tourism is big business; on-screen locations are frequently cited as an important reason for people to visit. “Productions filmed in Yorkshire appear on screens across the world, and although domestic and international travel opportunities are limited at the moment, we hope this new site will lay the foundations for more visitors in the months and years ahead,’’ says Sally.

Filming of All Creatures brought excitement to Grassington, says Kate Midgley of the village’s Chamber of Trade. “Grassington like many other towns and villages has seen a drop in footfall over the last few years, and businesses have been affected, more so with the impact of Covid-19. The launch of All Creatures Great and Small and this website is perfectly timed to showcase our beautiful village and the surrounding area.”

Welcome to Yorkshire Chief Executive James Mason said “I’m delighted that we’re partnering with Screen Yorkshire to celebrate and promote tourism. As I have said from day one, Welcome to Yorkshire’s role should be to collaborate with agencies such as Screen Yorkshire that hold the real expertise in a particular field and amplify the excellent work they do on a national and international scale.Visitor numbers to Yorkshire increased rapidly pre-Covid-19, following the success of hit shows such as Gentleman Jack and Downton Abbey spectacularly showcasing wonderful heritage buildings and stunning scenery. It’s no surprise that after seeing Yorkshire on screen, people then want to experience its beauty and drama firsthand. This new website offers TV and film fans from across the world the opportunity to find out more about where their favourite show was set and take a brilliant break in breathtaking Yorkshire.”

* filmedinyorkshire.co.uk