Brexit effect forces BBC drama to move scenes from Prague to Liverpool

 The director of a major new BBC drama has claimed the effect of Brexit meant they had to ditch plans to film it in a European city and opt for Liverpool and Manchester instead.

Tom Shankland, the director of The City & the City, starring David Morrissey and Lara Pulver, who caused a stir with her nude scene in Sherlock, suggested their options were limited by the weakening pound.

The four-part series is adapted from China Miéville’s fantastical novel of the same name.

It follows the death of a foreign student in the streets of the city of Beszel, which exists in the same geographical space as another city, Ul Qoma, yet the two are separated by their inhabitants’ subconscious.

Shankland said: “One major logistical challenge was that we wanted to go to a European city like Prague or Budapest to film but because of Brexit and the crumbling pound, we couldn’t really do that… Initially that was a big conundrum but it soon became something which forced us to think outside the box.”

The drama features Morrissey as Inspector Tyador Borlu, who investigates the death of a student. It airs on BBC Two on April 6.