Where is ITV detective drama Ridley filmed?

June 2024 · 3 minute read

Find out all about the filming locations for the Adrian Dunbar series here…

As well as a great storyline, ITV drama Ridley, starring fan-favourite actor Adrian Dunbar as a retired detective who is called back for one final case, has proven popular with viewers thanks to its scenic backdrop. 

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But where exactly was the series filmed? Here's what we know about the show's scenic filming locations…

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The four-part drama is set in the North of England and much of the filming was done on location in Lancashire and Yorkshire, and in particular in the Todmorden Wind Farm on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border, as well as the local canal and Bolton on Le Mans Crescent.

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Adrian has expressed his delight at being able to film the show in such beautiful locations, telling : "There were some really interesting areas that we went to, and some beautiful places as well. We filmed in the winter, so it was cold, and it was bleak. But all those things will add to the atmosphere of the piece."

The four-part drama is set in the North of England

However, it has been revealed that the weather got so bad that, at one point, production had to be shut down temporarily due to flooding. 

Bronagh Waugh, who plays DI Carol Farman in the show, that steps were made to try and separate from other crime dramas and that the shooting location choice was certainly one of them.

The location sets apart from other crime dramas

She said: "Set against the backdrop of this stunning Yorkshire and Lancashire vista makes it a very different show. It's very rural. It feels like a small village or town, and that's what sets it apart. It's not trying to be a gritty city drama."

She added: "It has a unique flavour of being set in the north of England. So there is that toughness and that hardiness that you get there, but with the wonderful warmth that you get in the north of England."

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Write Paul Matthew Thompson also weighed in and explained the reason for the show's unique location: "That particular area, the Yorkshire-Lancashire border, gives a sense of isolation. Obviously, it's very beautiful, but it's also a stark, bleak beauty.

"The people are very important. They're very much a product of the place that they grow up in. There's a fierce pride, and people are sometimes insular and guarded. They say people up north are friendly, and they are – I'm a northerner myself – they will talk to you in a way people don't perhaps in the bigger cities."

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