If you are wondering, “Where is Ridley filmed?”, the ITV detective drama is shot on location across Northern England, primarily throughout Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire. Key production sites include Bolton, Mossley, Rochdale, Bury, Ashton-under-Lyne, and the surrounding Pennine moors.
Specifically, Bolton’s historic Le Mans Crescent serves as both the police station and Marling’s jazz club, while Mossley in Tameside doubles as the fictional town of Framley. Meanwhile, Watergrove Reservoir near Rochdale provides the scenic backdrop for Ridley’s waterside home, with series two adding narrowboat and canal scenes in Derbyshire.
Adrian Dunbar’s brooding detective drama owes half its atmosphere to the ground beneath it. So when viewers ask where Ridley is filmed, the answer is within an hour of Manchester across moorland and former mill towns—tapping into a booming regional screen economy where UK High-End Television (HETV) production spend reached £4.03 billion in 2025.
- Both series were made on location in the north of England, not in a studio.
- Le Mans Crescent in Bolton is the police station and Marlings jazz club.
- Mossley in Tameside is Framley, the show’s fictional town.
- Series two added Ashton-under-Lyne, Heaton Park, Bury and Derbyshire.
- ITV confirmed in early 2026 that no third series is planned.
The Retired Copper, The Jazz Club And Four Feature-Length Cases
Paul Matthew Thompson, a former Vera writer, created the drama with Jonathan Fisher for West Road Pictures. Dunbar co-produces.
The premise is simple and rather sad. Alex Ridley retires after his wife and daughter die in a house fire, then returns as a consultant to help his old protégé, DI Carol Farman. Between cases he sings at the jazz club he co-owns.
Bronagh Waugh plays Farman, with Terence Maynard as DCI Paul Goodwin, Georgie Glen as pathologist Wendy Newstone, George Bukhari as DC Darren Lakhan, Julie Graham as Annie Marling and Bhavna Limbachia as Geri Farman.
Filming began in Lancashire in January 2022, and the first of four feature-length mysteries aired on ITV on 28 August 2022. Series two was commissioned in 2023, premiered in America on 15 September 2024, and then reached ITV1 on 10 August 2025, with the box set on ITVX.
The opener, “A Sleeping Tiger”, drew 3.94 million linear TV viewers on ITV1. The drama also benefited from ITVX’s record digital expansion, where total platform streaming reached 3.3 billion streams in 2025, driven by nearly 917 million drama views. TV Zone later reported ITV’s confirmation that the drama ends after two series.
Where Is Ridley Filmed? The Location Map At A Glance
| Location | Area | What It Plays |
Le Mans Crescent | Bolton | Police station and Marling’s Jazz Club |
Mossley | Tameside | The fictional town of Framley |
Watergrove Reservoir | Wardle, Rochdale | Ridley’s waterside home |
Ashton-under-Lyne | Tameside | The jewellery heist |
Heaton Hall | Heaton Park, Manchester | The illegal rave murder |
Bury old town | Greater Manchester | The village of Colden Vale |
New Mills | Derbyshire | Canal and narrowboat scenes |
Todmorden Wind Farm | Lancashire/Yorkshire border | Series one exteriors |
Source: ITV Studios / Production Filming Location Guides (Ridley)
Le Mans Crescent, Bolton: One Building Doing Two Jobs
The curved Art Deco crescent, built in 1939, is the show’s hardest-working address. Elle notes it was once a police headquarters, with cells and custody suites, so the crew need not pretend. Today it houses the Bolton Museum, home of the infamous Amarna Princess and the library, as BBC Countryfile points out.
Other rooms become Marlings, the jazz bar. Series two episode three uses the courtyard for tense exchanges between Ridley and his colleagues. Locals watched scenes from series one featuring extras dressed as barristers, a detail noted by the Radio Times.
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Mossley, Tameside: The Framley
There is no Framley on any map. It is Mossley, an industrial town in the upper Tame Valley, ringed by Pennine hills. Its stone terraces supply the small-town feel the writers wanted.
Thompson explained the appeal: “That particular area, the Yorkshire-Lancashire border, gives a sense of isolation. Obviously, it’s very beautiful, but it’s also a stark, bleak beauty.”
Watergrove Reservoir, Rochdale: Ridley’s Bolthole
Ridley’s waterside house is at Watergrove Reservoir near Wardle, where the crew uses the windsurfing clubhouse as his retreat. It is open to the public, with good walks.
Ashton-Under-Lyne: The Jewellery Heist
Series two opens with a robbery filmed in a real family-run jewellers in Ashton-under-Lyne. The team needed a shop on a pedestrianised street for the getaway, plus control of several roads, so they filmed on Sundays. Cosmopolitan confirms it was a working business, not a mock-up.
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Heaton Hall, Manchester: Murder At An Illegal Rave
Episode three’s rave killing was staged at Heaton Hall, the Grade I-listed Georgian mansion inside Heaton Park—the same venue with an 80,000 per-night capacity that hosted over 375,000 fans during Oasis’s reunion tour in July 2025. Manchester City Council owns the park, and the historic hall opens seasonally.
Bury: The Village Of Colden Vale
For the missing persons case in episode four, the crew turned Bury’s oldest quarter into the village of Colden Vale, complete with its church, pubs and café. The Two Tubs pub, parts of which date to the 17th century, became a key backdrop.
Derbyshire And The Wider North
Series two pushed into Derbyshire, using New Mills Marina, Albion Road and the canal towpaths. Location manager Danny Newton told The Derbyshire Times the team “filmed scenes in and around a narrowboat in New Mills, scenes on the canal path near Swizzles and on Hawthorne Industrial Estate”.
Series one ranged wider, taking in Todmorden Wind Farm on the Lancashire-Yorkshire border, the Yorkshire Dales and the Pennine moors. Filming ran through winter, and flooding once halted production.
Waugh said, “We’d spent six months outside in this stunningly epic, dramatic backdrop. I think every murder that we investigate, there is epic rain, epic wind – there’s a different element in every episode. We’ve got snow, we’ve got rain, we’ve got sleet, and we’ve got gale-force winds over the whole series, which is perfect.”
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FAQs
Q1. Is Framley A Real Town?
No. Framley is a fictional town. Mossley in Tameside plays it on screen, with Pennine countryside filling the rest.
Q2. Can You Visit The Ridley Filming Locations?
Most are public. Le Mans Crescent, Heaton Park, Watergrove Reservoir and the New Mills towpaths welcome visitors.
Q3. Is Le Mans Crescent A Real Police Station?
Not any more. It was once a working police headquarters with cells but now holds the Bolton Museum and library.
Q4. How Many Episodes Of Ridley Are There?
Eight in total, split into two series of four feature-length episodes, each roughly 90 minutes without adverts.
Q5. Will There Be A Third Series Of Ridley?
No. ITV has confirmed it has no current plans to return to the drama, so it ends after two series.
Q6. Where Can I Watch Ridley In The UK?
Both series stream free on ITVX, with repeats on ITV1.
Sources & References
- ELLE. (2026). Ridley Season 2 filming locations.
- Cosmopolitan. (2026). Ridley Season 2 filming locations.
- Radio Times. (2026). Ridley ITV location guide filming.
- BBC Country File. (2026). Where is Ridley filmed.
- Wikipedia. (2026). Ridley (TV series). In Wikipedia.
- IMDb. (2026). Ridley (TV series). In IMDb.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only and not for promotion. Details regarding filming locations, production statuses, and broadcasting schedules are subject to change over time. Readers should independently verify all facts and seek professional travel or legal advice before making plans or decisions based on this information.
