Where was Adolescence filmed?

Adolescence is set in a gritty, northern-England town grappling with a shocking crime, and the show’s atmosphere heavily draws on real places. While the drama unfolds on screen as one cohesive community under pressure, the filming actually takes place in real towns and a purpose-built studio environment across West Yorkshire. 

Below are the principal real-world spots that became the backdrop for this tense, four-part series.

Pontefract, West Yorkshire

Much of Adolescence was filmed in and around Pontefract, the heart of the series’s “everyday life” setting. The decision to root the show in Pontefract was influenced by the background of the lead actor, whose natural accent helped preserve northern authenticity without forced regional dialects. 

The house used for the Miller family home is on a residential street in Pontefract. During filming, the real occupants moved out, so the production could transform the interior, walls, furniture, and props to match the series' tone. 

Using a real family home helped anchor the drama in realism, reinforcing that this story could happen in an ordinary British suburb.

South Elmsall

School scenes were shot at Minsthorpe Community College in South Elmsall, including classrooms, corridors and several key exterior moments. 

The school’s size, layout and modern buildings were a perfect match for the show’s tight, moving-camera style, allowing the cast and camera team to move fluidly through real hallways during long one-take sequences. 

Nearby residential streets and a local leisure-centre car park were also used for transitional shots, keeping everything within a short distance of the studio sets.

Production Park, South Kirkby

Interior scenes for the show, including the police station and interview rooms, were built from scratch inside a large studio facility at Production Park in South Kirkby. 

Because Adolescence is filmed in continuous “one-shot” takes (no edits, no cuts), the production needed a space that gave them full control while remaining close to real-life locations. Production Park provided that flexibility. 

The facility allowed filmmakers to recreate interiors safely, something that real police stations or public buildings seldom permit for extended shoots.

Sheffield

Some other scenes were also filmed in Sheffield, adding a slightly different urban texture to the series. The city’s mix of estates, industrial areas and terraced streets provided atmospheric locations for moments that needed a grittier, more metropolitan feel than the quieter Pontefract suburbs. 

While the show’s creators kept many exact Sheffield locations under wraps (to avoid fans crowding real residents), the city is used sparingly to break up the geography, giving the story a wider sense of place without losing its West Yorkshire identity.

All four episodes of Adolescence are available to stream now on Netflix. With its one-shot format and escalating tension, it’s ideal for a tense, edge-of-your-seat binge-watch. 

With Virgin Media’s TV packages, you can access Netflix and all your favourite streaming platforms in one place. So grab a brew, get comfy, and prepare to dive into the raw, emotional world of Adolescence.