The ninth series of the ITV series Foyle’s War will be shot in its entirety in various locations across Liverpool as the city doubles for London on the small screen.
Foyle’s War is a British detective series set during and shortly after World War Two. Created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz it has been broadcast on ITV since 2002.
Liverpool’s Film Office fought off stiff competition from other areas of the UK to secure the programme after it was announced that the filming would no longer take place in Southern Ireland.
The production team is already in the city, with a view to start filming in January, with the shoot lasting around four months. Transmission is anticipated to be in 2015.
The entire cast, including stars Michael Kitchen and Honeysuckle Weeks, will be based in the city along with crew members.
There are also plans in place to create opportunities for local trainees to be part of the crew and gain invaluable industry experience.
Liverpool City Council’s Assistant Mayor and cabinet member for culture and tourism, Councillor Wendy Simon, said: “It is a huge coup for the city to play host to this extremely popular World War Two drama.
“Earlier this year, the BBC’s flagship autumn drama Peaky Blinders was also filmed in the city, so not only are we living up to our reputation as one of the most filmed cities outside of London, we’re also consistently attracting high-quality productions.
“It’s also fantastic news that there will be the chance for local people to work on the production, and get real experience of a competitive industry.”
ITV’s Head of Drama Series, Jane Hudson, said: “Anthony Horowitz has written three outstanding episodes and the audience are in for a real treat.
“This series also gives us the chance to take the shoot to one of the jewels of the North West, Liverpool.”
In 2011/2012, there were 894 filming days in Liverpool which have been calculated to have brought in £19 million to the local economy. In total, 227 films, programmes and adverts were filmed in Liverpool.
