The Last Bus - the new sci-fi Netflix show filmed in Bristol, Cornwall and Somerset

  • Watch Ellie Barker's report

The setting, talent and production of a brand new Netflix live action sci-fi series which aired on 1 April are all based in parts of Bristol and the south west.

The Bristol filming spots in The Last Bus feature the Redcliffe Caves and the Clifton Downs.

Across the rest of the south west, filming took place at Cheddar Gorge, Brean Leisure Park and Wookey Hole in Somerset and the Eden Project in Cornwall.

The studio based filming also took place in Bristol, at The Bottle Yard Studios in the south of the city.

The 10-part series began filming there at in August 2020, and the shoot lasted 19 weeks.

The sci-fi series is about a group of school children and a billionaire who promises to clean up the environment  - but all is not as it seems. 

The Last Bus filming on location in Bristol Credit: Netflix/Wildseed Studios

The show stars Robert Sheehan who has previously been in Umbrella Academy and Misfits, and Tom Basden, who has played roles in After Life and Plebs, as well as an ensemble cast of young actors.

It includes West Country homegrown talent - one of its stars and one of the directors are both from Bristol, and were spotted by a production company based in the city. Bristol-born actress Phoebe de Silva told ITV News West Country that it was a dream come true to get scouted while at school for the production.

When she got the part she said, "I thought my parents were lying to me at first... I just could not believe it at all."

Many of the young cast were discovered from a school search of thousands of young people for their first acting role. Credit: Netflix/Wildseed Studios

The production company - also Bristol-based - is called Wildseed Studios and they aimed to develop emerging talent in the industry.

Miles Bullough, managing director of Wildseed Studios said, "It's an incredibly proud moment to be honest. The Netflix appearance of The Last Bus is a truly magnificent moment for us.

"It's the culmination of nine years of work, of talent development and our talent initiative of trying to support new people to get their shows onto prime time television or prime time streaming platforms."

Not only did they find  Phoebe during a school call out, they also discovered one of the shows Directors through YouTube, where made videos when he was a teenager. 

Drew Casson said "the fact that Wildseed have kept me on board and I hope and believe respect my creative input and have championed that, I mean there's nothing more you can ask for."

The studio made use of cutting edge green screen technology. Credit: Netflix/Wildseed Studios

The studio has a huge green room that can be used to transform backdrops from Dinosaur lands to the Arctic.

It also has LED screens and 360 degree green screen technology that was used to wrap around the bus so the team could shoot in any direction with any backdrop.

Bristol and the South West are fast emerging as important hotspots in the TV and Film world, and Bristol based talent and innovations like this one put the region firmly on the map.