A TV star is in the town centre as filming for the second series of an acclaimed drama continues.
It has been confirmed that Adrian Dunbar has been on location in Le Mans Crescent for the hit drama Ridley in Bolton today, January 31.
Dunbar, of Line of Duty and Ashes to Ashes fame, plays the titular DI Alex Ridley as he is brought back to the force after an early retirement due to the loss of his wife and daughter in a house fire.
Film crews could be seen on Le Mans Crescent in the town centre, with lighting rigs pointing towards the top floor of the famous building, suggesting filming was taking place in there.
A sourced confirmed that the filming was for the new series of Ridley.
He said: "We have been here since last Friday, and will finish filming at Le Mans Crescent this Friday."
He also confirmed that Adrian Dunbar has been on scene today.
A Bolton Council notice on an equipment truck parked on Howell Croft North, just off Le Mans Crescent, said it was parked there for filming of Ridley.
This is not the first time the series has been spotted on the famous street, with crews having been seen there on numerous occasions last year.
Ridley will follow Dunbar’s character as he strikes up a working partnership with former colleague Carol Farman (played by Bronagh Waugh), with their bond to be "tested" in series two, according to the series writer.
Dunbar said: "There can be no greater endorsement of hard work and talent than the recommission of a series and, to that end, we have to thank ITV and the British public for taking to Ridley in such numbers.
“We shall certainly work just as hard to keep the standard we have set, and I look forward to developing Ridley as a character over the next four episodes."
Ridley series two will consist of four two-hour films, with Paul Matthew Thompson (Shakespeare & Hathaway), Julia Gilbert (Midsomer Murders) and Michael Bhim (Vera) handling writing duties.
Ridley season one was ITV's fourth biggest drama launch of 2022, with the premiere reaching 7.1m viewers and the series average settling at an impressive 6.3m.
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