How Hot Fuzz had big impact on Somerset’s tourism

Hot Fuzz is one of the most quotable British comedy films of recent years – and the city that offered the back drop for it has seen a huge increase in tourism.

The film – starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as two police officers – is set in the “sleepy” Gloucestershire town of Sandford. But, in reality, it was filmed entirely in Wells, Somerset.

Mike Rigby from Somerset Council said the council’s research has shown that young people in particular “are very keen to visit”, which has boosted tourism to Somerset overall.

Tour guide, Siobhan Goodwin, said: “People will happily travel four to five hours because this is the only place, in the world, to see the Hot Fuzz location.”

The movie follows Nicholas Angel, Pegg’s character, an elite, overachieving London police officer who is reassigned to a quiet village because his high arrest rate made the rest of the Metropolitan Police look bad.

It is a parody homage to American buddy-cop films, with co-star Frost.

The exterior of The Crown at Wells pub in the Market Place was one of the main filming spots for the movie.

The pub’s landlord, Alan Turner, said his most surprising fact is that the majority of the customers visiting his pub are police officers.

Other projects such as Poldark, The Huntsman: Winter’s war and the latest BBC series Can You Keep a Secret? Starring Dawn French were filmed in nearby Cheddar Gorge, Wells and Axbridge.

The planning executive for economic development and assets at Somerset Council, Mike Rigby, said Hot Fuzz is still the “pinnacle” for screen tourism.

“Twenty years on and there are still signs on streets and in the pubs talking about the movie.”

He added: “The filming industry alone has increased Somersets economy by £4m.”