FILM crews have rolled into Tameside this week as scenes for a brand-new Channel 4 comedy, Break Clause, are being shot in the heart of Ashton-under-Lyne.
Production vans, lighting rigs and camera crews took over Market Avenue on Tuesday, October 7, where parts of the town centre were temporarily cordoned off for filming.
Staff on site confirmed to the Tameside Correspondent that the shoot forms part of Break Clause, a six-part comedy series commissioned earlier this year by Channel 4.
According to Channel 4, Break Clause is created and written by Jess Bray and produced by BBC Studios Comedy in collaboration with ZDFneo.
The series stars Samuel Bottomley as Ben and Lara Ricote as Lil, a couple navigating the painful, and often hilarious. aftermath of their break-up while still stuck in the same rented flat thanks to a tenancy clause that neither can afford to break.
The show began life as a Comedy Blap short before being greenlit for a full series. Channel 4’s Head of Comedy, Charlie Perkins, described the project as “distinctive, funny, and perfectly timed for the modern viewer,” while Bray herself said she was “thrilled to be telling more of Ben and Lil’s story” after years of imagining the characters.
Locals out shopping on Market Avenue were quick to notice the bustling scene.
No broadcast date for Break Clause has yet been announced, but locals can expect to see familiar Tameside backdrops when the comedy eventually airs on Channel 4.