THE take from film production in Scotland’s biggest city topped £15 million last year, new figures show.
Starring roles in key productions helped drive income from film and TV crews to £15.13m, according to Glasgow Film Office (GFO).
The council department brought in major dramas in 2017, many of which will be screened in the coming weeks.
This includes the fourth series of “tartan noir” crime drama Shetland, which is based on the works of novelist Ann Cleeves and stars Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Perez. The six-part series begins on BBC One on Tuesday.
It also includes the directorial debut of Dr Who and Guardians of the Galaxy star Karen Gillan, which will premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival this month. The Party’s Just Beginning sees a woman in her mid-20s deal with the suicide of a friend.
Netflix feature Outlaw King, which sees American Chris Pine take on the role of Robert the Bruce, used Glasgow University and the city’s cathedral for its recreation of medieval Scotland.
And the makers of upcoming Benedict Cumberbatch series Patrick Melrose used it as a stand-in for New York. Other productions include Julie Walters film Country Music, BBC hospital drama Trust Me, zombie high school musical Anna and the Apocalypse and David Walliams adaptation Grandpa’s Great Escape.
GFO was established in 1997 as a one-stop shop for production crews seeking locations, and has more than 500 sites on its database.
Its staff previously helped turn the city centre into the streets of Philadelphia for Brad Pitt project World War Z, and helped its hilly office district double as San Francisco for the big-budget adaptation of David Mitchell’s bestseller Cloud Atlas.
Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “Over the past couple of decades, the council’s Glasgow Film Office has brought over £300m to the city’s economy, and I am delighted to say that 2017 was another successful year for Glasgow in this sector.
“This success brought yet more stardust to the city, with famous faces such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Pine, Julie Walters and Karen Gillan filming here last year.
“The Glasgow Film Office has been a real trailblazer in terms of attracting all types of productions to Glasgow and Scotland, and we can all look forward to the city featuring on our screens in the coming years.”
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