A waiting list is now in operation for walking tours taking people behind the scenes of big film and TV dramas.

The term ‘Hollywood of the North’ is a boast many town’s and cities in the region aspire to but in Bolton’s case it’s ringing true.

Since 2015 around 200 films and television series have been filmed there, with 75 productions using locations in the past five years.

Having recently won the award for Greater Manchester’s town of culture 2024, Bolton Council has introduced walking tours giving a glimpse into some of the locations used in dramas such as Peaky Blinders, It’s A Sin, Happy Valley and A Gentleman in Moscow and dozens more.

READ MORE: When Peaky Blinders cast and crew were in Bolton

Robert Carlyle drama Cobra filmed in Bolton

The area has long been the cradle of comedic talent, thanks largely to the giant of stand-up Peter Kayand in recent years has become something of a magnet for all kinds of film and television productions.

Stars including Ewan McGregor, Helena Bonham-Carter, Robert Carlyle,Sarah Lancashire, Stephen Graham and Cillian Murphy have all filmed scenes in the town. The most popular location is Le Mans Crescent, it’s scenic neo-classical façades providing a perfect backdrop for directors to imitate cities such as London New York and Moscow.

The location walking tour, led by local historian Suzanne Hindle begins with a look at the archive designs for the crescent, built in the 1930s as a grand civic project, giving work to hundreds during the Depression. Outside Suzanne gives the tour party of around 20 a knowledgeable insight into the many productions filmed on the cobbles, including a memorable set-piece in Peaky Blinders where the gang confront some Italian counterparts outside a ‘London’ jazz club.

A large section of the interior of Le Mans Crescent was previously the central Bolton police station and magistrates’ court, with two court rooms, several cells and a grim exercise yard all intact, unused and unspoiled. The interior was used in the dark drama The Reckoning, starring Steve Coogan exploring the crimes of Jimmy Savile. Inside rooms were used to depict the dank and dull corridors of Leeds Infirmary in the 1960s and also sections of the Broadmoor Hospital.

The main courtroom has seen several fictional characters ‘stand trial’ including Kay’s own Brian Potter and Corrie’s Roy Cropper. Probably the most famous scene shot there was the courtroom ‘escape’ in the BAFTA winning gritty crime drama Happy Valley, when the villain character Tommy-Lee Royce scaled the 15-foot high security glass and made his getaway on a bicycle.

Attendees are given the chance to stand in the dock and at the magistrates bench and be ‘led to the cells’.

Other dramas and films using the locations include Spring and Port Wine, Alma’s Not Normal and Ridley, which used the police and court cells, still marked with graffiti scrawled by generations of Bolton’s ne’er do wells after they were locked up.

Earlier this year the council said that over the previous four years, filming has delivered more than £1m of income into Bolton Council directly. As well as the civic architecture and countryside the council also offers production companies access to internal spaces in former retail units and office space for filming.

Amanda Parkin, 57, from Smithills, said she attended the tour to ‘fill in the gaps’ after catching glimpses of her home town in several television dramas.

She said: “It’s been great and a wonderful insight into the locations in Bolton and what productions have been made here.

“I saw that a large area was closed to film A Gentleman In Moscow and have seen the town used in Harlan Coben dramas. “I think tours like this will be of great interest to people and are positive for Bolton. They should continue.

The current programme of Bolton TV & Film Tours run until Friday, October 4.

Places are currently full with a waiting list in operation through Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/on-location-bolton-tv-film-tours-3578299.