The UK film and TV industry has bounced back spectacularly from the pandemic with a record £5.6bn spent making blockbusters such as Mission: Impossible 7 and big-budget dramas including Bridgerton in the UK last year. It was double the level of investment in 2020, when the spread of coronavirus shut down the production industry for months on end. The production industry moved into overdrive last year as broadcasters, streaming platforms and Hollywood studios worked to replenish their depleted content libraries for the small and big screen, with spending up almost £1.3bn on the previous record set in pre-pandemic 2019. “The demand for content has never been greater,” said Adrian Wootton, chief executive of the British Film Commission. “The UK is enjoying a once in a generation growth in production.” The annual figures compiled by the British Film Institute highlight the battle for viewers being waged between streaming companies such as Netflix and Disney, and traditional broadcasters such as Sky, the BBC and ITV. A record £4.1bn was spent making 211 high-end TV shows costing at least £1m an episode, such as new series of Bridgerton, The Crown and The Bay, almost three-quarters of the total spent on all film and TV production last year. The figure includes £737m spent on films made specifically for release on streaming platforms, such as Pinocchio, which the BFI classifies as TV spend. The overall amount spent on making premium shows last year is almost £2bn up on 2019. More than 200 films were shot in the UK last year with £1.55bn spent on production, up 13% on 2020 but down on the £1.95bn in 2019. However, just nine Hollywood blockbusters, including The Batman, Aquaman 2 and The Marvels, accounted for £1bn of that spend. “The record-breaking level of film and TV production in the UK revealed today is good news for our industry and the UK economy and demonstrates the speed of the sector’s recovery,” said Ben Roberts, the chief executive of the BFI. While the UK has for many years proved extremely popular as a base – thanks to a combination of generous tax relief, a highly skilled workforce and talent base – the speed with which production was able to restart has given the country a competitive edge as a location of choice. Initiatives include the £500m government-backed insurance scheme, which has so far enabled more than 1,000 productions with budgets worth £2.6bn to be made, plus the quick introduction of Covid health and safety protocols and quarantine exemptions for essential crew and talent to fly to the UK. “We have supported the industry through the pandemic and these brilliant figures highlight the importance of the sector to our economy,” said the culture secretary, Nadine Dorries. In August, Amazon made the surprise decision to move its $1bn-plus Lord of the Rings production to the UK, having filmed one series in New Zealand. “That was an Amazon choice, not ours,” said Roberts. In November, Netflix struck a deal to double the size of its base at Shepperton Studios, where it has made productions including the TV series Enola Holmes and the Charlize Theron film The Old Guard, and spent about $1bn this year making 60 TV shows and films in the UK. Disney has a similar large-scale deal at Pinewood Studios, where Star Wars and Marvel films are based, and Apple has secured facilities in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. The streaming wars have sparked a response from traditional broadcasters with Sky, which is building a new large-scale complex at Elstree in Hertfordshire, with Comcast-owned stablemate Universal Studios, unveiling its biggest-ever slate of original content investing in 125 TV series and films this year. “The groundwork for further growth is under way with expansion of studio spaces and production hot spots across our nations and regions,” said Roberts. “And we are working with industry to build up the skilled workforce that we need to meet demand and stay on top of our game.”