Former Alnwick school turned into fictional police station for Sky One Heist TV series

The former Duchess’s Community High School site in Bailiffgate, Alnwick, has been transformed into a fictional police station and will be a focal point of the Sky One series.

A team of 15 detectives, some currently serving and others recently retired, will be operating from the building as they attempt to close in on the culprits.

The last series, filmed in Thirsk, saw teams challenged to steal £250,000 from a van, which contestants could keep if they managed to dodge a team of investigators for two weeks.

Shine TV’s Stephen Bryce, production designer, said: “It’s clear to see the changes we’ve made on the exterior with the police signage but most of the changes have been to the interior.

“We’ve had to reconfigure some of the old school rooms to create working cells complete with cell doors, large keys and hatches that go up and down.

“There are lots of finer details like the carpets and desks which have to be just right and we’ve created hundreds of graphics.

“All the posters have to be curated by us and we have to take ownership of that. It’s a phenomenal amount of work – we even have branded police pens!

“For everyone who goes into that police station, it’s an immersive experience. It’s got to be believable so can’t just look like it appeared yesterday.

“On the other hand, we don’t want it looking like a museum so it’s got to be the right mix.”