Hull’s growing role as a TV and movie location is set for more stardom as a sequel to one of the most successful movies produced by streaming giant Netflix hits the small screen.
Superman actor Henry Cavill and award-winning actress Millie Bobby Brown were in Hull last autumn to film scenes for Enola Holmes 2, which makes its eagerly anticipated appearance on Netflix this month.
Hull Old Town’s cobbled streets became Victorian London for the follow-up to 2020’s Enola Holmes, the smash hit movie about the sleuthing adventures of the younger sister of an already famous Sherlock Holmes.
Both Cavill – who has now played Superman in four films – and Brown reprised their roles as Sherlock and Enola Holmes from the original movie for this new story that sees the younger Holmes take on her first official case as a detective.
High Street, Scale Lane, Bishops Lane, and Chapel Lane in Hull’s picturesque Old Town were closed as filming took place back in October 2021, when the actors were spotted on set, along with extras dressed in period costume, and even a horse and carriage.
The Netflix blockbuster – streaming from 4 November – is just the latest to bring the magic of the movies and TV to Hull, which is gaining the nickname ‘Hullywood’.
Thanks to the labyrinth of cobbled streets and Georgian townhouses of Hull’s Old Town, the city is a top spot for filmmakers wanting to recreate street scenes from Victorian London.
Back in 2018, Peter Capaldi and Dev Patel were in the city as director Armando Iannucci filmed scenes for star-studded comedy drama The Personal History of David Copperfield, which hit cinemas in 2020.
The Old Town – which still retains its medieval footprint with a surviving street plan around the original port area on the River Hull – doubled for Dickensian London, with producers impressed with the mix of civic buildings, cobbled streets and architecture.
And in 2021, ITV Studios filmed for Georgian-era thriller The Confessions of Frannie Langton. Parts of High Street doubled up as London’s Mayfair for the ITV murder mystery, starring Karla-Simone Spence (Blue Story,Wannabe) as Frannie Langton, a woman born into a life of slavery who is fighting to tell her own story. It is set to air on ITVX – ITV’s new, free streaming service – which is due to launch this year.
Among Hull’s other starring roles were scenes for 2015 movie A Royal Night Out, when the streets of Hull portrayed central London, for the story of how the future Queen Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret joined the street parties celebrating VE-Day in 1945.
More royal profile came courtesy of critically acclaimed historical ITV drama Victoria, with Jenna Coleman as the young Queen, alongside Tom Hughes as Prince Albert. Hull Old Town became 19th century London for both season two and three in 2017 and 2019.
For those wanting to follow in the footsteps of movie and TV stars, Hull tour guide Paul Schofield runs bookable guided walking tours of the city, including around the historic streets of Old Town (www.tourhull.com).
For tourism information about visiting, and staying in, Hull, see www.visithull.org
Peter Capaldi pictured filming scenes in Hull for 2020’s The Personal History of David Copperfield