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2016 a ‘bumper year’ for UK creative industries

Spend on UK film and TV production throughout the UK soared to £1.6 billion

2016 was a bumper year for the UK’s creative industries, according to figures released by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport.

Spend on UK film and TV production throughout the UK soared to £1.6 billion in 2016, a 13 per cent increase on 2015. Of that, £1.35 billion was invested by 48 major inward investment films based in the UK.

2016’s top three grossing films at the UK box office were all made in Britain: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Bridget Jones’s Baby.

There was a good turnout at the box office, too, with cinema ticket sales at a second all-time high, raking in £1.227 billion.

TV also saw overseas companies flocking to the UK to spend £478 million on making high-end shows such as Game of Thrones and The Crown.

Culture secretary Karen Bradley said: “It’s no surprise that our creative industries go from strength to strength when we can boast such superb talent and expertise.

“The UK is an international powerhouse of film, TV and music and this Government will keep backing our creative brilliance.

“As we prepare to leave the European Union this success story is a great advert for Global Britain – an outward-looking, globally-minded country that is open for business.”

The news comes two weeks after a Sherlock, Downton Abbey help UK TV exports increase ten per cent

“>survey from Pact found that UK TV exports have risen by ten per cent in the last year, rising to £1.32 billion in 2015/16.

Amanda Nevill, CEO of the British Film Institute, said: “British stories and British talent are firing the global imagination. Films and TV series such as I, Daniel Blake, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, Notes on Blindness and The Crown are generating investment, creating jobs and thrilling audiences – and fingers crossed winning yet more awards – at home and internationally.

“UK Film and TV employ tens of thousands in the UK, help bring international investment to our shores and take British culture to nations around the world.

“We can all be justifiably proud of the UK’s success in these most dynamic and exciting art-forms.”