Here is an exciting recap of how The Old Courts worked with the BBC and transformed our venue into a scene from wartime Manchester and Paris.

In July of 2018, Jill, our Sales Manager at the time, was approached by Space Studios Manchester, a purpose built facility for TV production, who The Old Courts had previously spoken to about using our spaces as filming locations. They told Jill that they had recommended us to Mammoth Screen, a production company responsible for such TV shows as Poldark and Victoria. Mammoth were looking for space to shoot a new TV show and wanted to look at our Victorian Courtroom.

After an initial visit from a locations manager, Mammoth returned a week later with a 12 strong team in order to do what they called a ‘reccy’. This means that the important people responsible for the filming of shows come along and decide if the space is suitable for their needs. After Jill had shown them the Victorian Courtroom and our Vault and Theatre spaces as well, Mammoth said that not only did they want the Courtroom for filming, but the other spaces too!

From November until January of 2019, the whole Old Courts complex was bustling with people: runners dashing here and there delivering scripts and the all-important coffees, cameramen setting up and then packing down equipment and heavily secured wiring running through almost every corridor.