Canals and rivers on screen

In the past few years, our canals and rivers have been working hard behind the scenes, you might have seen us in...

This Town (pictured above) is the latest BBC drama from Steven Knight (creator of Peaky Blinders) and is set in early 1980s Birmingham and Coventry as the Two Tone music scene is beginning to emerge against a backdrop of conflict at home, in the city streets, and in Northern Ireland. This drama is packed with canal locations including Snow Hill tunnel and an aqueduct on the Tame Valley Canal that spans the M6 motorway.

Slow Horses (pictured below) based on the Slough House spy novels by Mick Herron, this Apple TV series used the Regent's Canal in Regent's Park as a rendezvous for Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) and Lamb (Gary Oldman).

CBeebies Jo Jo & Gran Gran made a special trip to the canal in the episode It's Time For A Boat Ride. JoJo and Gran Gran meet Ned and Monty who are liveaboard boaters.

An all-new boating series Narrow Escapes has just begun on Channel 4. In this 20-part series we meet those who call our canals home. Whether it be retirees looking for freedom, young people searching for an affordable alternative to the cost-of-living crisis, newlyweds, families or divorcees, we’ll be introduced to a new and vibrant community made up of people from all walks of life, ages and backgrounds.

From continuous cruisers to business owners operating from their boats and the workers and volunteers on land who maintain the waterways, Narrow Escapes is a snapshot of modern life on the canals.

Later this year we will see a fifth series of Canal Boat Diaries arrive on the Yesterday channel. The documentary with live aboard boater Robbie Cumming shows the reality of life afloat combined with a chilled soundtrack and stunning views of the canals Robbie has visited.