The West Midlands has been named the UK's eighth official regional production hub for scripted film and high-end television, the British Film Commission announced on 3 August 2026 (Variety).

The designation means the region — home to Birmingham and the surrounding area — joins a national network of seven existing hubs: South-West England (Bristol), North-West England (Manchester and Liverpool), Yorkshire (Leeds), Northern Ireland (Belfast), Scotland (Glasgow and Edinburgh), Wales (Cardiff), and London and South-East England. Official hub status qualifies a region for coordinated support in attracting "inward investment" — international productions, often from US studios and streamers, that choose to shoot in the UK.

The West Midlands earned the status after years of building a credible production base. The region served as the setting and shooting location for Peaky Blinders, the BBC drama about Birmingham's interwar gangland that ran for six series. More recently it hosted The Immortal Man, a Peaky Blinders feature film, and an untitled Peaky Blinders spin-off series (Variety).

Two upcoming Peaky Blinders spin-off series are filming at Digbeth Loc. Studios, a facility in Birmingham founded by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. The studio opened recently and sits in Digbeth, a district that is also set to house the BBC's future regional headquarters in The Tea Factory — a move the BBC previously announced (Variety).

Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of the British Film Commission, welcomed the new designation, noting the region had grown in strength over nearly 15 years. "The West Midlands has grown in strength over nearly 15 years," Wootton said, according to Variety.

Steven Knight said he was thrilled the region had been recognised as a place to make film and television, and that the opening of Digbeth Loc. Studios formed an important part of that ambition (Variety).

The broader picture carries real financial weight. The UK-wide production sector contributed £5.8 billion ($7.8 billion) to the national economy in 2025, according to figures cited by Variety. Hub status is designed to channel more of that spending into regions outside London.

For crews, writers' rooms and production companies based in the West Midlands, the designation formalises what they have already been doing — and puts the region on the map for international productions that might previously have looked only to London, Manchester or Cardiff.