Bridgerton: Bath and Somerset's 'opportunity' after Netflix hit

The success of a new period drama has given Bath an "incredible opportunity" to boost its "devastated" tourist industry, its tourist lead said.

Netflix said Bridgerton has been seen by 82m households around the world and is its "biggest series ever".

Much of the show was filmed in Bath and features The Guildhall, the Royal Crescent and the city's Assembly Rooms.

At least £1.5m will be driven into the local economy due to the show's success, the council said.

One of its stars, Adjoa Andoh, who plays Lady Danbury, said she was "gobsmacked" by the impact it has had.

Adapted from a series of historical romance novels by author Julia Quinn, the drama follows members of the Bridgerton family as they navigate London's high society in the 1800s.

The show was designed for today's millennial and Gen Z audiences and has been described as a Regency-era Gossip Girl.

Kathryn Davis, Visit Bath's chief executive, said the popularity of the series has raised interest in attractions, despite the pandemic.

"The Guildhall, The Holburne Museum, The Assembly Rooms and No. 1 Royal Crescent have been strongly featured during the first season and are seeing an uplift in traffic to their websites," she said.

"The simultaneous release here and around the world has given us an incredible opportunity to raise the profile of Bath, to inspire visits in the future with the creation of Bridgerton-inspired tours, itineraries and experiences developing to help boost the visitor economy that was devastated during 2020," she said.

Bridgerton was the most watched show on Netflix in 83 countries, including the US, UK, India, France and Brazil. A second series was commissioned in January.

Ms Andoh said filming the show had been "lovely" in an area she knows well.

Some scenes were shot at Badminton House, Gloucestershire, five miles away from where her father lives.

"We finished shooting at the end of February - so nearly a year ago, before we moved into the land that time forgot," she said.

"I thought the show was going to be fantastic. It was Shonda Rhimes's first show for Netflix, that's a big deal. She's a one-woman fantastic story machine.

"We knew it was going to be pretty good but not the McBonkers thing it's turned out to be."

Paul Crossley, Bath and North East Somerset Council's cabinet member for community services, said the full economic impact will only be known later, since the most recent lockdown started days after Bridgerton was first streamed by Netflix on Christmas Day.

"As the city has been featured in magazines, newspapers and travel programmes all around the world off the back of its starring role in the programme we're very optimistic it will kickstart tourism in Bath again, once lockdown is over," he said.

"Another less tangible impact is the enjoyment and pride people get from seeing their home town in TV series that has become a global phenomenon. You can't put a price on that."

Scottish private tour company Rabbies is already cashing in on the Bridgerton craze by advertising tours shaped around filming locations for when lockdown restrictions lift.

Its tour plans to include the Holburne Museum, featured as Lady Danbury's estate, a two-hour Bridgerton walking tour through the city and a visit to the Royal Crescent, where the exterior of the Featheringtons' household was shot, before moving to Wilton House in Salisbury, Wiltshire which features in several episodes.