Northwest Vision and Media, create the bigger picture
Sefton coastline
A beautiful stretch of land that covers Southport, Ainsdale,
Formby and Crosby, Sefton Coastline is an ideal location for film
and TV crews seeking that all-important dramatic backdrop. It
boasts the largest sand dune system in England and is no stranger
to camera exposure; receiving regular visits by crews for various
projects.
During its time on air, Channel 4 soap ‘Brookside’ made
frequent use of the coast whilst ‘Coronation Street’
and ‘Hollyoaks’ have also visited. The attractive
beaches offer ideal beauty spots such as the award winning Ainsdale
beach, which was recently used to film scenes for new ITV1
programme, ‘Mobile’.
The three-part drama is a conspiracy-based thriller, which incorporates the current war in Iraq with a corrupt multi-billion pound mobile phone industry. Starring Michael Kitchen (Foyle’s War) and John Thomson of Cold Feet, scenes (right) were filmed at Ainsdale and designed to show a squaddie posted in the desert who is being called to return home.
Part of the charm of Sefton’s coast is its unique ability to double up as other international locations: a trait used to its full potential in recent scenes for the ITV1 Drama ‘The Outsiders’ starring ex-Eastender Nigel Harman. Other recent programmes featuring Sefton include Channel 4’s ‘Big Art Project’, BBC’s ‘Lilies’, ‘Inside Out’ and ‘British Isles - A Natural History’ with Alan Titchmarsh (right), which emphasises Sefton Coast’s significance as an internationally important site for nature conservation.
The reason for the coasts popularity with TV productions can be explained by its many unique and contrasting locations. As a special area for conservation, the natural habitats and wetlands can provide a good focus for potential documentary filmmakers. Alternatively, the multiple buildings, two promenades and Southport Pier present interesting urban landscapes.
Speaking of the Sefton Coastline, Kate Grant, Location Manager for ‘Mobile’ said:
"We had a great day at Ainsdale Beach. (It’s a) Fantastic location which looked great, was easy to service and the team down there were helpful and experienced so knew just how to look after us."
Kevin Bell, Location Co-ordinator for North West Vision’s Liverpool Film office added:
‘’The Sefton Coastline, which runs from Southport to Crosby, is a fantastic location to both visit and film. With the variation of coastline available it lends itself well to filmmakers. It has everything from a traditional seaside town (Southport) and the dunes of the Blue Flag Awarded, Ainsdale Beach to the woods of Formby.
This coastline can also offer expansive space over long periods, with many productions coming to the area to shoot desert scenes, and with its very film friendly staff it is easy to see why productions keep coming back for more.’’
’Mobile’ is expected to be screened on ITV1 in
2007
Contact the Liverpool Film Office:
For filming enquiries in Liverpool please contact Kevin Bell,
Liverpool's Film Liason Officer on 0151 233 6380
