Lights, camera, action – filming in the Highlands brings welcome boost

With the eagerly awaited next series of Traitors due to be aired on BBC 1 on the 3 January, The Highland Council is taking the opportunity to highlight the economic boost filming across the Highlands has and the role its film office staff play in attracting productions.

The Highland Film Commission, run by Highland Council, assists productions filming in the region by offering free and confidential guidance and support from the pre-production stage right through until filming is complete.

Chair of the Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Ken Gowans said: “The screen industry across Scotland has seen a boom in the last 5 years and last year’s figures show that Highland is no exception to the trend, with both national and international productions filming in the area.

“Despite the Writers Guild of America writers’ strike this year Highland has still had several high profile projects film in the region which will be announced in due course. Due to the diverse scenery in the Highlands these projects cover a huge range of genres and include small independent features, large scale programmes and factual projects.

“I would like to thank our in-house film team for all their hard work. With a few projects already in the works for 2024 we are pleased the Highlands are continuing to be a popular choice with film makers.”

Direct spend in the Highland region reached over £3million for the calendar year 2022, which is a record high for the region. Figures for 2023 will be published in 2024 but are expected to continue this trend.

This spend includes location fees, local crew hire, accommodation, catering, and other services required by productions whilst filming in Highland. It covers filming across the whole of the Highlands including Duncansby Head in Caithness, Torridon in Wester Ross, and Elgol on Skye. Productions include both the UK and US versions of The Traitors, Chemistry of Death for Paramount Plus, C4’s Miriam and Alan Lost in Scotland and Beyond, a Bentley Car Commercial for their Flying Spur Speed model and many others.