Where is Vigil filmed?

Where is Vigil filmed? It’s the question on everyone’s minds as we all sat down to watch the latest instalment of BBC One’s new tense drama series. 

Starring Suranne Jones and Martin Compton, Vigil comes from the same production company as fellow must-watch shows like Bodyguard and season 6 of Line of Duty. Dark and mysterious, it follows a trend of riveting new dramas this month - like Nine Perfect Strangers - that have completely captured our attention.

In the murky waters of the sea, the series follows DCI Amy Silva (Suranne Jones) as she attempts to uncover a conspiracy that threatens the heart of Britain's top nuclear deterrent.

Where is Vigil filmed?

Vigil is filmed across various locations in Scotland, including Glasgow. 

The city locations included: 

• Squinty Bridge 
• Finnieston Street
• Hamilton Park Avenue in the west end 
• The streets around Blythswood Square 

While some locals may recognise these areas of the show, the majority of the filming actually took place on a set created to look like a Trident submarine. 

Lead director, James Strong, spoke about the challenges of filming in such an environment recently. He said, “The biggest challenge for any director setting up a show is to ‘build the world’. To set the visual approach and work with the team to execute this. And with Vigil there was a lot to build!

“First of all, there was a Trident submarine - the setting for the majority of the show. I like to shoot on real locations - but for obvious reasons this was largely impossible, so we had to create a big enough space to contain the action and be big enough to work in and yet retain all the claustrophobia of a real submarine.” 

He added, “Creating HMS Vigil was an enormous endeavour, brilliantly carried out by designer Tom Sayer and his team. It looked incredible, was a great place to shoot and yet always felt utterly real.” 

In one of the latest episodes, much of the action took place at a station the show calls Dunloch naval base. This is a fictional location, however, as Dunloch is a made-up town in Scotland. 

It is based on a real navel base, though. Faslane is the HM Naval Base Clyde on the Gare Loch in the west of Scotland. This is where the UK’s nuclear deterrent Trident is housed, along with a four-strong fleet of Vanguard-class submarines - similar to the one on the show. 

When is Vigil on TV?

The last episode of Vigil aired on Sunday September 26 2021. 

Whilst no new episodes are expected on TV, viewers can catch up and watch the full series on BBC iPlayer now.

Vigil began on Sunday August 29 and continued on Bank Holiday Monday with another episode. Additional episodes were shown every Sunday in September on BBC One, with the series concluding on the last Sunday of the month.

If you're looking for more exciting new BBC series, Ridley Road is coming out in October. Set in 1960s London, it follows one brave woman who takes on the leader of England's rising neo-Nazi movement.

How many Vigil episodes are there in the series?

BBC One drama Vigil has 6 episodes in total.

The drama follows the disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and the death of a man on board the Trident nuclear submarine. 

Vigil stars Suranne Jones as DCI Amy Silva, who leads the investigation into a conspiracy that forces the police into loggerheads with the Navy and British security services as they deal with a threat to Britain’s top nuclear deterrent. 

Other shows we can't wait to watch before the end of the year include HBO's UK streaming of The White Lotus and the new UK series of Married at First Sight. While Complaints Welcome on Channel 4 is a hilarious late-night panel show, set to air in October 2021.

Full cast of Vigil tv series

There are a few famous faces in this cast…

• Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster, Gentleman Jack), DCI Amy Silva 
• Martin Compston (Line of Duty), Craig Burke 
• Rose Leslie (Downton Abbey), Kirsten Longacre 
• Shaun Evans (Endeavour), Glover 
• Paterson Joseph (Casualty, Peep Show), Newsome 
• Aisha Toussaint (River City), Cat 
• Anjili Mohindra (Bodyguard, Doctor Who), Doc Doc 
• Connor Swindells (Sex Education), Hadlow 
• Reuben Joseph (theatre roles including Rapunzel), Porter 
• Adam James (I May Destroy You, Hustle), Prentice 
• Gary Lewis (It’s a Sin, Death in Paradise), Colin Robertson
• Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones, The Crown), Shaw 
• Lolita Chakrabarti (Holby City, Silent Witness), Branning
• Daniel Portman (Game of Thrones), Gary Walsh 
• Lorne MacFadyen (Shetland), Doward 
• Lauren Lyle (Outlander), Jade 

We may only be a couple of episodes deep but fans of the show have been quick to express their excitement around the show on social media.

Some celebrated the incredible casting choices, like one Twitter user who wrote, "Suranne Jones really is without a doubt one of Britain's best actors."

While some pointed out the more undervalued members of the cast in the series...

And others speculated over the real Scottish villain in the show...

Will there be a season 2 of Vigil?

The BBC have yet to officially confirm if there will be a second series of Vigil.

This being said, some cast and crew members have hinted at a possibility of another season.

Actress Anjli Mohindra, who played Surgeon Lieutenant Tiffany Docherty, told the Radio Times in September that "there’s been conversations" about a second season.

She added: "I think there’s stuff on the horizon. But nothing confirmed just yet."

The show's BAFTA-nominated writer Tom Edge also teased that there could be more to come. Though it wouldn't see a return to the submarine setting.

"We have probably told as many of the stories as we would wish to tell on a submarine," he said. "[But] some of the characters that we have developed as we’ve made it, they feel like characters that we’d love to burrow into. So if there’s a will to do it from everyone else then certainly I would be up for it."

With this being shared, we think it's a case of 'watch this space' for details of a season 2 of Vigil.

But if you're looking for an exciting drama in the meantime, you could check out the new James Bond film which comes out in the UK on September 30. Some people are even suggesting that No Time To Die will be available to stream in the UK as many other blockbusters this year have gone straight to streaming services.

Keep your eyes peeled!