The cast of Married Single Other
Fashion, style, restaurants, international premiere designers and …….lights, camera, action!
Yes, Leeds’ very own VQ, the lifestyle destination also known as the Knightsbridge of the north has been named Screen Yorkshire’s TV and film location of the month.
The Victoria Quarter’s elegant Grade II listed buildings are home to 76 of the world’s leading fashion and lifestyle brands such as Louis Vuitton, Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood, Mulberry, LK Bennett, Agent Provocateur, All Saints and of course Harvey Nichols, and it continues to feature in many award winning film and television productions.
Most recently VQ has provided a stunning back drop for the hugely successful romantic comedy drama Married Single Other currently showing on Mondays, ITV1 at 9pm.
“I have used the Victoria Quarter in Leeds on several productions over the years and it has become one of my favourite locations”, explains Luc Webster, Location Manager, Married Single Other. “The management company and all their staff are incredibly accommodating and the individual businesses have been very receptive to location filming“.
The Victoria Quarter is a series of fabulous Victorian Shopping arcades in central Leeds, designed in 1900 by Frank Matcham, also the architect of exquisite classic Victorian theatres such as the London Coliseum and the Palladium, hence presenting VQ as a beautiful and dramatic space in which to film.
"It’s wonderful that VQ is frequently used as a location for film and TV productions”, says VQ Centre Director, John Bade. “From gritty drama to rom com, and from feature documentary to news and current affairs, they’ve all been filmed here. As a location VQ is a fantastic mix of beautifully preserved historic architecture, mixed with elegantly stylish contemporary stores and restaurants, representing Leeds and its people in a very positive way. For a stunning back drop, it really is the perfect city centre destination”.
Fans of MI5 drama Spooks may have also spotted VQ in the BBC’s spin-off Spooks - Code9. The six part series, following the fortunes of six new recruits as they attempted to foil a plot to assassinate the Prime Minister, was partly filmed in Leeds' Victoria Quarter.
VQ’s stunning aesthetic appeal is often the reason that it’s a first choice location for film and television productions, as Chris Fry, the BBC’s Spooks Code 9 Producer explains “" When searching for locations we're always looking for the most striking architecture. The Victoria Quarter has amazing colour, shape and fantastic windows in the roof. It’s also timeless, that’s so important for our series. In the script a sequence required a busy public area in which our team had to follow a suspect. VQ gave us all of those things and looked great. We also did a chase sequence on the roof in which (in the story) someone falls to their death!"
Talking of the reason for choosing the VQ as a key location, Chris added, "The series had to be set out of London for the story, also the BBC want more programmes to be made out of the capital. I've done lots of filming in London and the main problem is that it takes so long to get anywhere. Leeds and Yorkshire have such a vast array of locations, from urban sites like the VQ to the moors, and all are really easily accessible."
The crew filmed at VQ for two days in winter and although on a tight schedule nevertheless found space for some vital retail therapy.
" During the shoot on the roof I kept on seeing more and more crew members with brand new extreme weather coats on," said Chris. " It turns out that The North Face were having a sale and everyone had gone shopping in their lunch break!"
Seems ‘It’s a wrap’ all round then!
As well as the BBC’s Spooks Code 9 and ITV’s Married Single Other, many more production companies have used VQ as a location, including the filming of Alan Bennett's Childhood Memories, The Innocent starring Caroline Quentin, Diamond Geezer with David Jason, The BBC's The One Show, Travel Show and Street Doctor, Trinny and Susannah's Undress The Nation and of course numerous appearances on ITV and BBC news programmes.
This year sees VQ celebrating its 20th anniversary with numerous events planned, but the buildings that now house the new Victoria Quarter are actually more than 100 years old.
Victoria Quarter’s restoration in the 1980’s resulted in a clever blend of old and new, that is a key feature of what VQ is today. Two of the most dramatic elements of the Quarter are Brian Clarke’s breathtaking stained glass roof, which runs the full length of Queen Victoria Street and is featured in the Guinness Book of Records for being the largest stained glass window in Britain, at a staggering 746.9 square metres! And there are also three stunning mosaic floor panels by Joanna Veevers in County Arcade.
It really does have to be seen, to truly appreciate the beauty of this series of stunningly restored buildings.
Screen Yorkshire, the regional screen agency for Yorkshire and Humber, have described VQ’s appeal as a location and why it has been chosen as their location of the month, “The Victoria Quarter's breathtaking original design and loving subsequent restoration - such as the perfectly replicated ornate mahogany frames and gilded art nouveau lettering on all the shop fronts - offers amazing opportunities for period productions, whilst also offering a uniquely beautiful contemporary city centre shopping environment.” www.screenyorkshire.co.uk
So it’s no surprise, that VQ is not only Screen Yorkshire’s chosen location this month, but that it continues to be the first choice for shoppers and diners, from near and far, who know the importance of that quintessential lifestyle experience.