The Hot 100: film & TV in Edinburgh and Glasgow

Henry Northmore
1 November 2017

The Central Belt is enjoying a bit of a boom as a film and TV location

There was an explosion in filming across Edinburgh and Glasgow in 2017. T2 Trainspotting hit the cinemas in January and unsurprisingly the vast majority was shot in Edinburgh and Leith, capturing the reality of Renton (Ewan McGregor), Spud (Ewen Bremner), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) and Begbie's (Robert Carlyle) lives.

In spring, the capital was taken over by the Avengers folk for big budget sequel Infinity War. All the key players – including Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo – swooped into town, with the Royal Mile, Cockburn Street and Waverley Station the key locations in the superhero blockbuster. This was the biggest ever shoot to take place in Edinburgh, with a crew of over 400 in tow, and it's estimated the Marvel movie boosted the Scottish economy by £10m. Further afield the latest Mary, Queen of Scots biopic (starring Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie and David Tennant) filmed around Inverness and Aviemore.

In TV a number of high-profile dramas have been set in Scotland. The BBC's student drama Clique and medical thriller Trust Me both took place in Edinburgh. And alongside River City, Robot Wars and Mrs Brown's Boys, The Replacement (starring Morven Christie and Vicky McClure) was also filmed in Glasgow. ITV's Liar featured Edinburgh in one episode and murder mystery The Loch was based on and around Loch Ness. Closer to home, series three of historical romance / action adventure Outlander (Amazon Prime) filmed right outside The List offices, transforming the courtyard into a bustling Jacobean marketplace.

Meanwhile, plans for the £250m Pentland Studio complex, comprising six sound stages on the outskirts of Edinburgh, have been greenlit by the Scottish Government and should be open for business in late 2018.