Star role in TV drama is crowning glory for Leeds and Yorkshire

Victoria, which follows the life of the young Queen Victoria, was filmed at locations across Leeds and the rest of the county, including Harewood House, Temple Newsam and Bramham Park.

The central Buckingham Palace set, meanwhile, was built at the Screen Yorkshire agency’s recently-opened Church Fenton Studios, near Selby.

Jon Williams, from series producer Mammoth Screen, said: “One of the easier decisions we had to make on Victoria was where to base the production.

“The hangar studios at Church Fenton, with all the surrounding offices, store rooms and car parking, were the perfect place to build the interior of Buckingham Palace.

“There are very few places where one can build a ballroom, a throne room and vast corridors all under one roof.

“Best of all, Church Fenton is right in the heart of the most beautiful part of Yorkshire, with good access to excellent crews and some of the most striking locations in England.”

Sally Joynson, chief executive at Leeds-based Screen Yorkshire, said the addition of Church Fenton to the agency’s portfolio meant it could now attract large-scale projects such as Victoria to the county.

Describing the site’s potential as “incredibly exciting”, she added: “It marks a major sea change for the film and TV industry in Yorkshire.”

Featuring former Doctor Who actress Jenna Coleman in the title role, the first of Victoria’s eight episodes goes out on ITV at 9pm tomorrow.

Other locations used during the filming of the programme include Castle Howard, Allerton Castle, Beverley Minster, York city centre and Whitby.

The Church Fenton complex boasts nearly 100,000 sq ft of production space across a 440-acre site.