Hertfordshire, not a county redolent of glamour, is swiftly becoming the Hollywood of Europe. Three vast studio complexes are being built or are at the planning stage there — Sky’s 28-acre development at Elstree; a £700 million investment by Sunset Studios, which produced La La Land and Zoolander, at Broxbourne; and a 91-acre site at Hertswood, next to the Sky complex. This spring, the county will see an invasion of orcs, trolls and hobbits: according to Variety, the film industry’s bible, Amazon has chosen Bovingdon airfield, a mile-long strip between Chesham and Hemel Hempstead that was once home to General Eisenhower’s personal B-17, as one of the two main locations for its TV adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. Bray Studios
WEEKEND ESSAY | EMMA DUNCAN
Britain’s great TV and film boom has left the BBC behind
Billions of pounds are being spent in this country by the US giants of the industry but the future is looking ever bleaker for broadcasters who rely on taxation or advertising rather than subscription, says Emma Duncan
The Crown, starring Olivia Colman, takes more risks with US funding that it would under the BBC
LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX/AP
The Times