The 19 best TV shows made in Birmingham, chosen by Brummies
Asmita Sarkar
·6-min read
Noele Gordon, who played motel owner Meg Mortimer in Crossroads (Photo: M McKeown)
Birmingham has been producing some amazing TV shows, across many genres for decades. From detective and crime dramas to comedy to non-fiction shows - there’s been some iconic TV shows that have been created in our city.
From BBC’s Pebble Mill to ATV’s Midlands studios - some incredible gems have been made over the years. We asked Brummies which shows made in Birmingham were their favourites and the response has been overwhelming.
From shows in the 60s to the recent Peaky Blinders phenomenon, the choices have been wide-ranging. With Masterchef soon moving to Birmingham and BBC Midlands moving to a larger venue in Digbeth - we can only expect that Brummies will have a huge catalogue of options to choose from in the future.
Peaky Blinders is probably the most popular show from Birmingham in the recent years. Starring Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby, the leader of a gang based in Birmingham, this period drama by Steven Knight has been a massive success. It was shot across the UK including in Birmingham. The sixth and final season of Peaky Blinders concluded on Sunday 3rd April 2022. (Photo - Anita Maric / SWNS.com)
These will include Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner starring ITVX’s crime drama Joan. The show is being filmed across the West Midlands with Birmingham being one of the prime filming spots. Although we're sad to see daytime soap Doctors that has been made in Birmingham for over 20 years has been axed.
Here are the greatest Birmingham TV shows of all time, according to our readers:
The sitcom Crossroads revolved around a fictional motel on the outskirts of Birmingham. It was packed full of drama, and attracting up to 15 million viewers for ATV in its hey day. The sitcom aired in the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Gladiators is a British television sports entertainment game show adapted from the American programme. It was presented by Ulrika Jonsson (pictured here). In the 1990s it was filmed in Birmingham. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
This series by creator Guz Khan presents a comedic take on real life in inner-city Birmingham. Khan stars in the lead role with Duaa Karim, Tez Ilyas and Tolu Ogunmefun as part of ensemble cast. Series four released in 2023 and it is not known if it would have more seasons in the future. (Photo - BBC Three)
Pipkins (originally Inigo Pipkin) is a British children’s TV programme. Hartley Hare, Pig, Topov, Octavia and the gang were the stars of ATV’s pre-school series which ran from January 1973 to 29 December 1981. It starred George Woodbridge as Pipkin (pictured here in a separate TV show) and several other great actors and actresses. Pipkins ended when ATV lost its franchise for the Midlands ITV region. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
English actor Warren Clarke (1947 - 2014), starred in ths show as old-school cop Andy Dalziel along with Colin Buchanan playing Detective Peter Pascoe. While it was a Yorkshire-based crime drama, it was shot in Birmingham in the 1990s. (Photo by Jones/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
This 1986 ITV drama starring Michael Elphick as Ken Boon was made in Birmingham. (Photo - Alan Williams, Copyright : Network Fulfillment/ITV, plc., 1987, 2009)
From left to right, actors Brenda Cavendish, Alfred Burke and Luan Peters, stars of the British television drama series ‘Public Eye’, UK, July 1971. It ran from 1965 to 1975, for a total of seven series. For the second series, the lead moves to Birmingham, to continue his investigations. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Created and written by a former Brummie doctor, the first series was filmed in Birmingham. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images)
Doctors is set and filmed in Birmingham. This soap opera features a talented cast including Owen Brenman, Matthew Chambers, Elisabeth Dermot Wash, Ian Kelsey and Adrian Lewis Morgan as well as Stirling Gallacher. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Crimewatch Live viewers have been helping to catch criminals and solve big cases in the West Midlands after tips flooded in for several of investigations that featured on the show. Airing daily from 6 March to 24 March, the BBC One show broadcast several appeals and gave a fascinating insight into the investigate work behind some of the big cases in the region. (Photo - West Midlands Police)
British television announcer Jean Morton (1921 - 2012), one of the original continuity announcers of the Midlands regional independent television station ATV, hosted the Tingha and Tucker show where she spoke to the puppets. It was shot in Birmingham and ran from 1962 to 1970. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Susan Brown was part of the cast of The Kids from 47A. This British children’s television series was produced by Associated Television. It ended after three series in 1974. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)
This was a British television magazine programme that was broadcast live on weekdays at one o’clock on BBC1, from 2 October 1972 to 23 May 1986, and again from 14 October 1991 to 29 March 1996. It was transmitted from the Pebble Mill studios of BBC Birmingham. (Photo - Robin Vanags/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic)
This show produced by the BBC and created by Adil Ray, who played the main lead, was about Mr Khan, a self-proclaimed community leader in Birmingham. He got himself and his family into comedic situations and problems due to his loud mouth. The show ran from 2012 to 2016. (Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)
This chat show featured some of the most famous people from across the world like The Beatles, The Supremes and others. It was a pop music show made by ABC Weekend TV, and broadcast on ITV from 1961 to 1966. It was often filmed at the Alpha ATV/ABC studios in Aston Birmingham. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
British television presenter Sally James was one of the presenters of the popular children’s television series that originally aired on Saturday mornings from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982. Originally a Midlands-only “links” programme presented by Chris Tarrant and John Asher, Tiswas is chiefly remembered for evolving into a nationally broadcast comedy show with Chris joined by Sally James, Bob Carolgees and Lenny Henry. (Photo by A. Jones/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Muck and Brass was a stand alone drama on Independent TV midweek. Starring Mel Smith as Tom Craig - it was about an ambitious property developer, who manipulates and negotiates his way to make it through and to the top of local politics in a fictional Midlands town. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
This TV show was made by BBC television drama and shown in two series from 1976 to 1978. It was created by Philip Martin and starred Maurice Colbourne as John Kline, a former SAS officer recruited by law enforcement to become an undercover agent in Birmingham. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Princess Kate hosted her annual Christmas carol concert on Friday and Prince Louis was caught in a cheeky moment with his sister Princess Charlotte. See their antics here
We need to talk about Ukraine. While the world’s attention has been focused on the war between Israel and Hamas, grim tremors have been shaking that rich, black soil. Ukraine’s counteroffensive has failed – or, in Volodymyr Zelensky’s words, “did not achieve the desired results”.
As they mingled in a rooftop bar overlooking Battersea Power Station, ITV executives were in a celebratory mood. ITVX, the broadcaster’s streaming service, was turning a year old.
Unrest has emerged among Russian invaders due to the almost complete absence of rotation of soldiers drafted under general mobilization, Ukraine’s HUR Intelligence Main Directorate said on Dec. 8, releasing an audio interception as evidence.
The intercity train that collided with an overhead power cable, sparking chaos for thousands of passengers in west London, was being driven by a manager who was replacing a striking driver, it was revealed on Friday. Aslef, the train drivers’ union, said the Great Western Railways train was being driven by a manager who was allegedly being paid £500 to “break the strike”. Aslef published the first picture of the broken power cable beside the Cardiff-bound train.
The Japanese man who made headlines throughout the year for chronicling his journey as a “dog” has apparently flunked an agility course. What happened: The man, known to his followers as Toco, posted a series of photos on Instagram this week showing what appeared to be moments of failure in a Crufts-style agility course. About Toco: Toco rose to fame in 2022 after commissioning Zeppet, a Japanese model and sculpture company, to create a hyperrealistic rough collie costume for 2 million yen (around $16,000 at the time).
Yahoo News 
