Scottish Govt Welcomes Production Spend

Latest figures from the Scottish Government reveal that film and TV producers spent £52.7 million in the country in 2015.

It added that the amount is an increase of almost £7m when compared with 2014.

The news follows the Scottish Government's work through Creative Scotland to support large scale international productions and Scottish producers to anchor their productions in Scotland in recent years, including Trainspotting T2, Outlander, Churchill, Calibre, Hush, Etruscan Smile, In Plain Sight (formerly Muncie), Loch Ness, Tommy's Honour, Sunset Song, Macbeth and current productions like The Wife.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop announced the record spend after meeting the crew of current production The Wife while filming on location at the National Museum of Flight.

She said: "This record spend shows that all eyes are on Scotland as the ideal place to base production. Our uniquely beautiful rural areas to bustling urban cityscapes provide excellent backdrops and our highly skilled crews are in hot demand. I met local crew members, Evonne, Caroline and Ruaraidh as well as the Producer and Director on The Wife, who were not only enthusiastic about what Scotland has to offer the film sector, but what the film sector is doing for Scotland and our trainees. 2015 has been a record year and I am determined to keep working with our agencies to support and grow Scotland's screen sector."

Piers Tempest, Producer of The Wife and Churchill, added: "With the support of Creative Scotland and the Production Growth Fund, we had an extremely positive experience filming Churchill in Scotland earlier this year, and it really felt like the natural place to bring our next film The Wife, which is currently in production Glasgow."

Natalie Usher, Director of Screen at Creative Scotland, commented: "We're delighted to see that the production spend figures published today show a significant increase on previous years. This proves that Scotland's talent, crews, facilities and award winning locations continue to be of huge attraction to major international productions. In the last year we have seen Sony Starz maintain their commitment to a large scale production base at Cumbernauld, we welcomed Jason Connery's feature film Tommy's Honour, and it was great to see our wonderful capital city double for Victorian London in the landmark BBC series, The Secret Agent. Together with the UK's beneficial film and TV tax reliefs and the additional incentives provided by Scotland's Production Growth Fund, we fully expect the 2016 figures to show a further and significant increase."

(JP)