Television: Marvel, Happy Valley and more of the TV shows shot around Calderdale in 2022

At one point, there were actors and production teams from Marvel’s Secret Invasion, Happy Valley and Ackley Bridge all filming at the same time in Halifax town centre.

Calderdale has become so popular as a filming location, Calderdale Council has even launched a ‘Film Calderdale’ website, where location managers can browse a database of potential sites.

Here we take a look back at the shows that were filmed in the borough in 2022.

Happy Valley

Sarah Lancashire and the rest of the cast of the hugely popular TV drama returned to Calderdale earlier this year to film the third and final series.

The BBC show is written by Calderdale writer and director Sally Wainwright, who also created Last Tango in Halifax and Gentleman Jack.

At the Halifax screening for the third series, producer Jessica Taylor spoke about how important the Calderdale locations are to Happy Valley.

"Sally is really specific about the locations, she knows it all so well, she's grown up here,” said Jessica.

"If she has a street in mind or writes a scene with the location in mind she is really specific about it. She'll say I know that street that's where my grandad lived.”

The first episode of the new Happy Valley series will be shown on BBC1 on New Year’s Day.

Ackley Bridge

Also back in the Halifax to make their final season this year were the cast and crew of Channel 4’s Ackley Bridge.

The school drama, which first hit our screens in 2017, followed the lives of staff and students at a school in the fictional town.

During five seasons, the show starred Jo Joyner, Adil Ray, Amy-Leigh Hickman, Poppy Lee Friar, Sunetra Sarker, Robert James-Collier and Charlie Hardwick.

Filming has taken place over the years at the former St Catherine’s Catholic High School as well as a number of locations in Halifax and the rest of Calderdale.

Marvel’s Secret Invasion

There was huge excitement when it was revealed that Marvel would be filming its new Disney Plus series in Halifax.

Samuel L Jackson, Emilia Clarke, Ben Mendelsohn, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Cobie Smulders were all spotted in the town as crews filmed at The Piece Hall, Dean Clough and on the outskirts of the town centre.

In total, there were around 260 members of cast and extras, plus 200 members of crew involved in the Halifax filming.

Secret Invasion is coming to Disney Plus in Spring 2023.

Full Monty 2

Part of Halifax town centre was taped off for several days back in August for filming of Full Monty 2.

The making of the Disney Plus sequel to the huge hit movie brought movie star Robert Carlyle, whose films include Trainspotting and James Bond movie The World is Not Enough, to Halifax.

He was seen rehearsing and filming a scene involving actors in police uniforms on Alexandra Street, between Commercial Street and Wards End.

Ridley

A crime drama starring Line of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar was filmed in Todmorden earlier this year.

Filming for Ridley took place near Todmorden Wind Farm and along the town’s canal.

It was screened on ITV1 in the summer.