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County council earns £250,000 as filming location

Christopher Day
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Louise Parry
BBC News, Hertfordshire
Apple TV+ A woman wearing a protective white suit and helmet with a closed visor stands looking directly at the camera with a crater wasteland behind her.Apple TV+
Rebecca Ferguson stars in the dystopian TV series Silo, with the third season partly filmed at Hertford County Hall

TV shows and movies including Silo, The Undertow and Grantchester have earned a council £250,000 after scenes were filmed at one of its buildings across 2023 and 2024.

County Hall in Hertford, which is owned by Hertfordshire County Council, will feature in seven productions on platforms including Netflix and ITV.

Filming for the unreleased third season of Silo, a dystopian drama series starring Tim Robbins and Rebecca Ferguson, took place at the municipal building in October.

Hertfordshire County Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the venue's popularity was due to the "the historic and aesthetically pleasing nature of its architecture and surroundings".

Although the first two series of Silo are set almost entirely below ground in a post-apocalyptic bunker, the third series explores the government decisions that created the silo in the first place.

The county council received £77,440 from SDTA Productions to use the location.

David Howard/Geograph The main front of Hertford County Hall, with a green pillared table on of a wide 1930s style brown brick building. It has tall long windows at the front, a gold clock and two flags. In the foreground is a green sign for Hertfordshire County CouncilDavid Howard/Geograph
Hertford County Hall was was built in 1939 and is now a Grade II listed building

A freedom of information request by LDRS revealed County Hall was also home to filming for Prime Target, an Apple TV series released in January which featured Leo Woodall.

Filming took place in June 2023 and earned the county council £47,000.

Shortly after Prime Target was in town, the new crime series The Undertow took over County Hall at a cost of £40,000 to film their show featuring Jamie Dornan.

Apple TV+ Leo Woodall acts in Prime Target. He holds a red passport in his hand as his arms are crossed, looking like he is in an office building with skylights. He wears a brown old-fashioned watch and a casual open shirt over a lilac t-shirt.Apple TV+
Prime Target, starring Leo Woodall, also shot scenes at Hertford County Hall

Two series being broadcast on ITV - Grantchester and Code of Silence - earned the council £12,950 for filming in October and November 2024.

While Grantchester is now in its 10th series, Code of Silence, featuring Rose Ayling-Ellis, will premiere on ITVX on 18 May.

A feature-length film called My Oxford Year also shot scenes in Hertford and is due to be released in 2025.

Details of the productions based at County Hall were released after the LDRS challenged Hertfordshire County Council's initial refusal to disclose the information, on the grounds that it was commercially sensitive.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: "We welcome requests for filming and are pleased that County Hall is sought out as a venue due to the historic and aesthetically pleasing nature of its architecture and surroundings.

"We are always looking at how we can best utilise our assets to generate income to help deliver services to our residents and support the economic growth of the film industry in Hertfordshire."

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