Former school site transformed for filming of Sky One's The Heist in Alnwick

A former school building has been transformed into a police station for filming of The Heist.
The exterior of the fictional police station for The Heist.The exterior of the fictional police station for The Heist.
The exterior of the fictional police station for The Heist.

Shine TV, producers of the hit Sky One show, have spent months getting the old Duchess’s Community High School building in Alnwick ready for filming of the new series.

The last series, filmed in Thirsk, saw teams challenged to steal £250,000 from a van, which contestants could keep if they managed to dodge a team of investigators for two weeks.

An exterior shot of the former Duchess's Community High School, transformed into a police station for filming of The Heist.An exterior shot of the former Duchess's Community High School, transformed into a police station for filming of The Heist.
An exterior shot of the former Duchess's Community High School, transformed into a police station for filming of The Heist.
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Matt Bennett, executive producer, said: “The old Duchess’s school has lent itself beautifully to being a fictional police station for the shoot.

“We are putting the finishing touches to the police station now. It’s been an incredibly complex job to make it look like a real, authentic police station that you would find in a town like Alnwick.

“It’s got to feel like it’s been there for years so there is a huge amount of set design, like boxes of files from the mid-1960s. There is an enormous amount of efforts goes into sourcing the right materials from around the country to make it look like a real established building on TV.”

A small crew from the production company have been on site since December to prepare for the new series.

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“We’re in a position now where we have our new cast and team of detectives in place and they’re are all raring to go,” said Matt.

“Production is going really well, all as planned. We have had a very warm welcome from the people of Alnwick and have loved being here.

“We came to Alnwick because it’s a very beautiful town with some of the best countryside Britain has to offer but it’s also fiercely independent and that is what we were looking for.”

He also thanked Alnwick Town Council and Northumberland Estates for their support during the production process.

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Lucy Curtis, senior producer, said: “We have got a team of 15 detectives, some currently serving and others recently retired and it’s been really important for us that they feel they are operating in a place that feels realistic and not just a set.

“They have all turned up and been really pleased with what they’ve seen.”

The second series is expected to be broadcast in early 2020.