Press release -
No Secret to Edinburgh's appeal
Edinburgh’s New Town will be transformed into Victorian Soho this weekend, when The Secret Agent premieres on BBC television.
VisitScotland, the national tourism organisation, says the new adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s political novel will help showcase the outstanding architecture of the UNESCO World Heritage Site to potential visitors.
Thistle Street Lane, which is situated between George Street and Queen Street, doubles for 19th-century London in the three-part series, which stars Toby Jones, Vicky McClure and Stephen Graham.
Sets were also constructed at Newbattle Abbey in Midlothian, while Bakehouse Close in the Old Town, Gosford House in East Lothian and Hopetoun House in South Queensferry also feature.
Directed by Charles McDougall and produced by World Productions for BBC One, Jones plays Verloc, whose seedy Soho shop hides his role as an agent of the Russian Embassy, spying on a group of London anarchists.
Furious that Britain tolerates violent extremists, the Russians want Verloc to provoke a bomb outrage that will trigger a government crackdown. Caught between the Russians and the British police, Verloc drags his unsuspecting family into a tragic terror plot.
Priscilla Parish, the series’ producer, said Edinburgh was able to provide “great period locations that arguably would be impossible to find in London”.
She added: “In Thistle St Lane, central Edinburgh, is a long cobbled street with similar proportions / size of buildings to 19th-century Soho. The location also gave us a network of streets which really opens up the world of Soho and gives a feeling of scale. David Roger designed shop fronts and filled them with goods: second-hand instruments, a pawn shop, a couple of pubs.
“Verloc’s shop was at one end of the street, and 150m away at the other end was a music hall from which all sorts of characters emerge. There is a bridge spanning the street with its facade covered in an advertisement for the real 19th-century cemetery Necropolis train. Then it was a matter of populating the streets with people and animals. The finishing touches came in the mix – a mixture of languages, industry and street-life.”
Jenni Steele, Film and Creative Industries Manager at VisitScotland, said: “The beauty of the New Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is that its preserved architecture lends itself perfectly to film-making – in this case doubling as Victorian London. Set-jetting is a hugely popular pastime and, with other stately homes around the Lothians also featuring, we hope that seeing these amazing locations in The Secret Agent inspires people to explore the historic areas of Edinburgh and the surrounding countryside.”
Rosie Ellison, Film Manager at Film Edinburgh, said: “We were thrilled to have attracted this production to the Edinburgh region. Thanks to the diversity and variety of our locations, combined with a skilled crew base and film friendly procedures, Edinburgh’s appeal as a filming destination continues to flourish. The Secret Agent was one of 353 productions filmed in the region during 2015, generating a record-breaking £6.9 million economic impact for the local economy, a 48 per cent increase on the previous year.”
The Secret Agent begins on BBC One this Sunday (17 July) at 9pm.
For more information about film and television locations in Scotland, go to https://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/attractions/tv-film/
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- film tourism
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
About Film Edinburgh:
Launched 25 years ago, Film Edinburgh is the oldest regional film office in the UK. Its mission is to attract and facilitate filmmakers to Edinburgh, East Lothian and the Scottish Borders by helping filmmakers find locations, crew and facilities in the area. Since its conception, Film Edinburgh has dealt with over 8,500 enquires, converting into more than 4,300 productions filming in the city region. The total economic impact for the city is estimated to be worth in excess of £70million. www.filmedinburgh.org
About VisitScotland:
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP.
- The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016 - 2016 will shine a spotlight on Scotland’s achievements in innovation, architecture and design through a wide-ranging, variety of new and existing activity.
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design begins on 1 January 2016 and ends on 31 December 2016 and will build on the momentum generated by the 2015 Year of Food and Drink as well as previous years including Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- Through a series of exciting events and activity, the year will showcase Scotland’s position as an “innovation nation”, its outstanding built heritage, and its thriving, internationally acclaimed creative industries sector.
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Scottish Government, Creative Scotland, Architecture + Design Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- Join the conversation at #IAD2016
- Events can join the 2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design Partner Programme throughout the year by visiting http://www.eventscotland.org/YIAD_partner_programme
