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My UK city has a bad reputation but it’s finally going be huge this year – thanks to huge events and top TV show

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BRADFORD has long been overlooked as a city break destination but it’s about to get its moment in the sun.

The west Yorkshire metropolis is both the City of Culture for 2025 and star of a brand new BBC show called Virdee – starting tonight.

Cartwright Hall in Lister Park, Bradford.
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Beautiful locations in Bradford like Cartwright Hall are shown off in BBC thriller Virdee[/caption]
UNDER STRICT EMBARGO TIL 3:15PM (GMT) TODAY - THURSDAY 24TH AUGUST, ,  , , Please find attached six BBC press releases. All are under strict embargo until 3:15pm, after today’s Spotlight on the BBC session at Edinburgh TV Festival., , They include four new shows from Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, who announced 22 hours of new drama for BBC One and BBC iPlayer., ,  , , From Drama: Hot Flush, The Jetty, Virdee and untitled Nicôle Lecky series. Press contact: lucy.hynes@bbc.co.uk, , From Factual: new documentary, Better Off Dead?, presented by Liz Carr. Press contact: emma.dalmeida@bbc.co.uk, , From Comedy: the return of Black Ops. Press contact: Susan Collins Susan@plankpr.com, ,  , , Link to pictures can be found here:, , https://we.tl/t-1dA8fD5JwR, , For Jenna's image please credit: Olivia Lifungula, , For Sacha's image please credit: David Reiss
Writer Amit was raised in Bradford and reveals the city was the inspiration behind his novels turned BBC series
BBC

Creator and executive producer of the new thriller, Amit Dhand, has spoken to The Sun Travel why we should be visiting Bradford and reveals his favourite best places to visit, including an old jailhouse bar with secret tunnels.

Amit, who grew up in Bradford, has based a series of novels on the city and can’t get enough of the place he calls home.

He said: “This is the friendliest city in the UK. We love people coming to visit, and we talk a lot in Bradford – everyone loves talking to you.”

Amit’s new BBC thriller Virdee – a series that follows Detective Harry Virdee (played by Staz Nair), who has become estranged from his Sikh family after marrying a Muslim woman – starts tonight.

At work, Harry suddenly becomes involved in the case of finding a killer who is targeting the Asian community in Bradford – which takes the show all over the city.

Bringing his books to life has given Amit the opportunity to showcase lots of his favourite spots – including one that is very well hidden.

“Sunbridge Wells is one of my favourite places in the city – the underground tunnels are totally unique and most people have never heard of them.

“It used to be the old jailhouse under the courtrooms and for years it was a secret space, where people held underground gigs, but now it’s a whole underground arcade with bars, pubs and restaurants

“It’s dark, cool, quirky, and we used the venue in a pilot episode – but amazingly, no one knows that part of Bradford exists.”

The Beatles even played at the former underground nightclub and in the prison cells as part of their 1964 UK tour.

S1XYWN The entrance to Sunbridge Wells, underground tunnels housing bars, restaurants and shops in Bradford city centre.
The cobbled underground tunnels are used in the very first episode of Amit’s BBC series
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Interior of Sunbridge Wells, an underground leisure and shopping facility in Bradford, England.
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Sunbridge Wells is a series of bars and restaurants underneath the city[/caption]
BBC Drama Virdee, Staz Nair (right) with co-star Aysha Kala
The first scene between Harry and his wife is in City Park by the huge water fountain
BBC

Up at ground level, there are plenty of outdoor spaces worth visiting too, including another of Amit’s favourite locations, City Park.

City Park is in the middle of Bradford and is centred around the Grade I listed City Hall, which is used as a civic centre.

The park itself has an incredible water feature and Mirror Park which is the perfect place for a paddle in the summer.

It has a huge water fountain display, coloured lighting which changes throughout the day, and even a water canon. It’s a great place to be on a hot summers day with some people calling it “kids paradise”.

Amit said: “The first time we meet Harry and his wife is in City Park, which is one of the biggest water fountains in England – we use that location throughout the show because it’s such a beautiful space.”

Thanks to its location, within walking distance of several stunning Yorkshire moors, it’s also the perfect city for a walking holiday.

Amit said: “We’re surrounded by natural beauty. Whatever you’re looking for, we can provide, if you want a walk in the moors, you can veer off towards the Cow and Calf.”

Bradford City Hall in City Park.
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Bradford City Hall is surrounded by the Mirror Pool – the largest urban water feature in the UK[/caption]

The Cow and Calf are two rocks found on Ilkley Moor and resemble a cow and calf – hence the name. They are great for climbing on and you can see for miles over the moors.

North of the centre of Bradford is Lister Park which Amit says is a place he gets a lot of his ideas.

The popular spot for walking also has a boating lake, art gallery, bandstand, tennis courts and bowling green.

Lister Park has won the Green Flag Award, an international award for well-managed parks, a number of times.

Amit said: “I get a lot of ideas when I sit by the boating lake. It’s a really beautiful, calm, and ambient place.”

As for where to find good food, you don’t have to look too hard.

“We have the best food. It’s not a competition, but we have the best food in the whole of England. There are around 250 curry houses in Bradford. People talk about Brick Lane, but you want to come to Leeds Road.”

While Amit sings the city’s praises, he’s aware that Bradford hasn’t always had the best reputation over the years.

“Someone I know really well once said that after 2001, Bradford was a city that had PTSD and struggled to recover from what people thought of it.”

Amit continued: “People only remember dark headlines, they love drama, because they love to look at stuff which is different. But those of us in Bradford have known that change was coming for a long time.”

Cow and Calf rocks on Ilkley Moor, Yorkshire.
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Outside of Bradford are lots of green spaces including the walking trail to Cow and Calf rock on Ilkley moor[/caption]
Panoramic view of Lister Park's boating lake in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Inspiration strikes for Amit when he’s at the boating lake in Lister Park
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“Every city has got good and bad, dark and light. For a long time we focused on the negative aspects of Bradford and didn’t bother to look at the positives.”

Being crowned the City of Culture 2025 means Bradford is celebrating across the city with new projects, live events and performances, which will continue throughout 2025.

Amit believes the city’s new title will “do amazing things for Bradford” and that it’s “really well-deserved”.

He added: “We were always City of Culture, that’s not a new phenomenon. For us in Bradford, we’re bringing the title home that we know we’ve always had.”

There were some notable locations in Bradford absent from the series, and one in particular that Amit hopes to include if Virdee returns.

2C199FB the Wool Exchange building in Bradford, West Yorkshire now used as a retail centre including a large Waterstones shop
Waterstones bookshop is in the huge and historic Wool Exchange in Bradford
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M00HA8 The Wool Exchange, Bradford, Home to Waterstones bookstore and various other retailers and cafes.
Inside the bookshop are huge ceilings and magnificent architecture as well as a secret tunnel
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He said: “I really wanted to use the Bradford Waterstones. It’s the greatest bookshop in the world because it is in the old Wool Exchange.

“It has 200ft high ceilings and it’s the most magnificent building I’ve ever seen.

“I’ve never found them, but apparently there are underground tunnels that connect the Wool Exchange to the City Vaults pub across the road.

“If you are coming to Bradford and want to have coffee in, go to Bradford Waterstones, because you will never, ever forget it.”

Virdee will start on Monday 10 February, 9pm, BBC One.

Three Bridget Jones locations across the UK

Here are some of the most well-known filming locations for Bridget Jones...

The exterior scenes of Bridget’s Zone 1 flat were filmed on 8 Bedale Street in Southwark around the corner from Borough Market looking out onto the train line. Bridget’s flat is above The Globe Tavern pub (recently turned into a Thai restaurant) and has become a popular spot for fans to snap a picture of the most recognisable locations from the film.

A location outside of London that was used in the very first film was Stoke Park Hotel. where Bridget and Daniel took a romantic mini break. The grand country club and spa is found in Buckinghamshire and you don’t have to book a room to enjoy the facilities – buy a day pass to visit the spa, grounds, or play a round of golf on the 27-hole course

The fight between Daniel and Mark for the second film where both of them end up brawling in a water fountain was meant to look like the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens. The scene was actually filmed five minutes up the road in the Italian Gardens at Lancaster Gate.

BBC Drama Virdee, Staz Nair as Harry Virdee
Staz Nair stars as Harry Virdee in the six-part series and you’ll recognise lots of locations in Bradford
BBC

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