North Wales became a filming location for movies and dramas this year

If you live here in North Wales that might happen more often that you expect.

In recent years, the region with its stunning coastline and beaches has provided the backdrop for many a production.

Back in June, locals were surprised to see scenes being filmed for the second season of “House of the Dragon” taking place in Gwynedd and Anglesey.

"House of the Dragon" filming takes place on Anglesey (Image: Paula Hanks-Jones)

Paula Hanks-Jones shared photographs of filming at Llanddwyn Beach.

Filming also took place at Trefor Quarry, Dinorwig Quarry and elsewhere in Eryry.

"House of the Dragon" filming takes place on Anglesey (Image: Paula Hanks-Jones)

It came after Warner Bros Discovery, owners of HBO, offered “exciting and rare” job opportunities in the region for a three-month project, including extras roles.

Llandudno proved to be a popular location for filming in 2023.

Toby Jones was one of the actors spotted filming in Llandudno. (Image: DJ Peaks Photography)

ITV was in Craig-y-Don and Llandudno in July filming a new drama series called Mr Bates vs the Post Office.

The show stars some big-name actors including Toby Jones (Captain America: The First Avenger and The Hunger Games) and Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street) who were both sighted in Craig-y-Don during shooting.

St David's Hospice in Craig-y-Don was converted into a post office for filming on the new ITV drama series. (Image: Patrick Glover)

The main location used for filming was St David's Hospice on Queens Road in Craig-y-Don which was converted into a post office for the two days of filming.

A month earlier, Apple TV film crews were in the town to shoot a new film called The Gorge.

John Hume Snr saw The Gorge crew setting up a base at West Shore. (Image: John Hume Snr)

Residents saw crews set up base on Llandudno's West Shore with filming taking place in a church yard and around the Great Orme.

The movie features some big-name Hollywood actors including Sigourney Weaver (Alien), Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick) and Anya Taylor-Joy (Queen's Gambit, The Menu).

Meanwhile, viewers got to see the controversial docu-drama based on the life of Jimmy Savile, for which many scenes were filmed in Llandudno in place of Scarborough.

Steve Coogan filming The Reckoning in Llandudno. (Photos by Russell Mann)

The Reckoning, starring Steve Coogan, told the story of how Savile came from a working-class background to be one of the biggest stars in television.

It will also focused on Savile’s years of sexual abuse and the impact he had on his victims.

Scene featuring Savile talking to Margaret Thatcher were filmed outside the town's iconic Grand Hotel.

Llandudno was also used as a location for a short film set in Colwyn Bay earlier this year.

Sharks in Colwyn Bay was written and directed by Welsh-English filmmaker Jonny Williams between May 16 and 20, and will be shown at the BFI Southbank cinema in London on January 25.

"Sharks in Colwyn Bay" is filmed in Llandudno (Image: Yuelin Yang)

The dark comedy short film, 16 minutes in length, was according to Jonny, a “real challenge” to shoot.

He said: “We had under five days to film, which was a tight squeeze for a project like this. When you’re pulling 12-hour days on little sleep, it’s easy to lose momentum.

“But seeing what great work the cast and crew are putting in always energises you again; it’s like having a shot of espresso.”,

Annie-Rose Tate. R: Three Little Birds, ITV (Image: Annie-Rose Tate)

Other productions featured talent from North Wales, including a Kinmel Bay actor who is to star in a new six-part ITV drama series written by Lenny Henry.

Annie-Rose Tate, 24, features in the fifth episode of “Three Little Birds”, which is based on Henry's mother’s experiences arriving in Britain from Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation in 1957.

The programme premiered on ITV1 on October 22, and will be shown every Sunday at 8pm – or you can watch the whole series now on ITVX.

Also the daughter of female wrestler Tina Starr, Annie-Rose attended the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester, where she studied for three years.

She said: “This time last year, I got the audition, and then the part. I was absolutely ecstatic; it had felt sometimes like nothing like that would ever happen for me.

“It took a lot to move away from Kinmel Bay and Rhyl, but I had to take that leap and move to a bigger city (Manchester). To then get this part just feel surreal.”

The Duke of Lancaster ship, a landmark of the North Wales coastline, was used in the series by taking on the role of the HMT Empire Windrush.

Antony Rowley, who grew up on the ship, taking over from his father, John spoke of his delight that the Duke of Lancaster’s legacy is being carried on through TV and film.

He said: “Filming was great with ITV, (with) the ship being used as a film set.

“There’s more filming to be done here and there’s quite a few projects in the pipeline, from filming to concerts etc, bringing jobs to the area and tourism back to North Wales is nice to see.”