I Fought The Law was shot entirely in the North East in 2024 and will make its debut on ITV on Sunday
15:00, 31 Aug 2025Updated 20:23, 31 Aug 2025
Sheridan Smith on set filming for ITV drama I Fought the Law in Shiremoor, North Tyneside.(Image: PA)
It’s already created significant buzz in the days and weeks leading up to its debut on TV and, on Sunday night, it will be time for millions of viewers to get their first look at new Sheridan Smith drama I Fought The Law. And many people watching will be curious to know just where it was filmed.
There was quite of bit of excitement in various locations in the North East last summer, firstly in the heart of Newcastle city centre, when the cast and crew of the true crime drama, led by Cilla and No Return actress Sheridan, arrived as production began on the series which is centered on the murder of 22-year-old Billingham mum of one, Julie Hogg and her mum Ann Ming’s fight for justice to put her killer William Dunlop behind bars for life.
Ann’s resilience at getting justice for her late daughter led to a historic rule change for double jeopardy, after killer Dunlop had been acquitted at trial twice. I Fought The Law, which had its North East premiere at the Gala in Durham on Thursday, August 28, is based on Ann’s deeply personal and very poignant book, For The Love of Julie and, speaking to ChronicleLive at the Durham screening of the show, Ann said that she had been on set on numerous occasions and was blown away by Sheridan’s portrayal of her.
The I Fought The Law cast also includes ex Coronation Street star Jack James Ryan and it’s being brought to TV by Hera Productions and North East Screen, with teams making use of houses still lived in today for the scenes involving the homes of Julie, Ann and her husband and their neighbours. For that reason, some of the specific locations can’t be disclosed, but the show took its cast and crew all over the region, with scenes shot in Newcastle city centre, in the likes of Shiremoor and Forest Hall in North Tyneside, in Teesside itself, in Northumberland and in County Durham.
While the action in later episodes will be set in London, as we see Ann desperately try to get her pleas for action heard, no filming actually took place in the capital. The series was shot entirely in the North East and buildings to look out for that double as locations in London include Newcastle Civic Centre, Newcastle University and Middlesbrough Town Hall.
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