This City Is Ours location guide: Where is the BBC drama filmed?

As the competition heats up, Michael also has to question whether his risky and illegal career is even still viable, as he eyes a potential exit to settle down with beloved girlfriend, Diana (Hannah Onslow).

The eight-episode series is primarily filmed across two locations – an iconic English city and an idyllic European getaway. Here's what director Saul Dibb (The Sixth Commandment) had to say about where This City Is Ours filmed.

Where is This City Is Ours filmed?

This City Is Ours is filmed in two primary locations: Liverpool, where the Phelan's have their base of operations, and Marbella, Spain, where they meet with their suppliers.

During a press conference for the launch of the series, This City Is Ours director Saul Dibb revealed to RadioTimes.com and other outlets precisely what he was looking to capture about Liverpool.

"I would say the people, more than anything," he began. "I think it's an incredible city with incredible people, who've got a lot of heart, a lot of soul; they love music, they're funny and clever and outgoing. There's just a lot of love.

"And I think that's what I picked up on when I was there on an emotional level. But I think as a city, the look of the city has real character. Obviously, we know what its history is. You can see that in in the way it's got so many different types of architecture."

Dibb continued: "It's a dock city [and] the dock is obviously important – historically and now for very different reasons. That's a massive impact. In terms of representing it, I thought of it more as how the Americans represent places like Boston, for instance.

"They make it really, very much a character; again, it's one that's got a lot of Irish influence, it's a dock city, but to represent it in a way that didn't feel like an ordinary representation of British cities."

While several scenes and sequences are filmed in central Liverpool itself, the Phelans themselves live just outside of the city in the Wirral, with co-star Julie Graham describing their house as "beautiful" and a display of "what wealth Ronnie has".

Another key shooting location for This City Is Ours is the city of Marbella in southern Spain, which This City Is Ours screenwriter Stephen Butchard said is home to "active gangs" from "all over Europe".

On shifting his gaze to the picturesque new location, director Dibb said: "I think to some extent, [if] you take a group of people who are involved in crime and you go to Spain, there's a lot of cliches that surround that.

"And I think, generally, it's just [about] trying to push those to one side and concentrate on the characters and the story.

"So in a way, it's all about choosing the house that we chose. And when you watch episode 2 and episode 3, you will understand how important that is for all of the dynamics that are going on between everyone."

The Phelans spend much of their time in Spain in an "opulent villa", with co-star Graham revealing that the cast and crew spent five weeks shooting at the stunning property, which becomes a pressure cooker for the feuding characters.

Dibb added: "Everyone's basically kind of lying or hiding something about themselves at all times – Cheryl stands out, actually, as the only person who tells the truth – and so really, Spain is the setting, but the main thing is to really drill down into all the inter-dynamics between the people in this very real world.

"So we shot in real places in and around Marbella; we didn't try to either glamorise it or diminish it. It is a place where all of this stuff happens, where loads of families like this end up, but it does give you a great visual landscape."

This City Is Ours is available to stream on BBC iPlayer from today (Sunday 23rd March 2025). New episodes air Sundays on BBC One.

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