Seren Stiwdios (formerly Pinewood Studio Wales) is a Welsh film and television studio in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Founded in 2015, the studio complex was operated by the

Pinewood Group Pinewood Group Limited (formerly Pinewood Group plc and Pinewood Shepperton plc) is a British multinational film studio and television studio company with headquarters in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England. The group runs Pinewood Studios a ...

until March 2020 when the company terminated its agreement with the Welsh government to manage the facility. It is currently leased and managed by Great Point Media.

Studio history

The studio was announced in February 2014, after negotiations between Pinewood Group and the Welsh government resulted in an agreement for Pinewood to rent the site of the former Wentloog Environmental Centre in the suburb of St Mellons in north-east Cardiff, which the government had purchased for £5.24 million and spent £9.5 million fitting out. Construction began in the second half of 2014, and the studio opened in January 2015. In 2017, it emerged that Pinewood had not paid rent to the government for leasing the studio until January of that year. Economy minister

Ken Skates Kenneth Christian Skates (born 2 April 1976) is a Welsh Labour politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales since March 2024. Skates has represented the constituency of Clwyd South in the Senedd since the elect ...

told the

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

that the two-year rent-free period was "consistent with market practice". Pinewood held a fifteen-year lease on the site, but the agreement had a five-year break clause, allowing the company to walk away in 2020. As of March 2019, Welsh production company

Bad Wolf "Bad Wolf" is the twelfth episode of the revived Doctor Who series 1, first series of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 11 June 2005. It is ...

was the sole tenant of the studio facilities. In October 2019, Pinewood Group gave notice to the Welsh government that their agreement to run the studio would end on 31 March 2020 as permitted by the break clause. In October 2020, the studio was taken over by media investment firm Great Point, with the complex rebranded to Seren Stiwdios.

Productions

The historical television series ''

The Bastard Executioner ''The Bastard Executioner'' is an American historical fiction drama television series, created by Kurt Sutter, that aired on FX from September 15, 2015, to November 17, 2015. On November 18, 2015, Sutter announced that he had voluntarily pulle ...

'' was filmed on Stage 1 of the complex, and in other locations in Wales, and released in September 2015 on FX in the United States. Studio filming for the fourth series of the BBC drama '' Sherlock'' took place at the studios in 2016. A remake of the 1994 film ''

The Crow ''The Crow'' is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fianc� ...

'' was slated to be the first film to be shot at the studios in 2015, but production delays put the project on hold. Filming for the BBC Three series ''

Class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

'' (a spin-off of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'') took place here, excluding the corridor and hall scenes.

References

External links

Pinewood Studio Wales
() {{film-studio-stub 2015 establishments in Wales British film studios British television studios Buildings and structures in Cardiff Cinema of Wales