The Game on Channel 5: Filming locations revealed, and it's not where they say it is!
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The Game on Channel 5 is set in the UK, but was actually filmed across the English Channel in a European country not a million miles away – here’s everything you need to know about where it was filmed, and the filming locations…
The four-part thriller starring Robson Green and Jason Watkins first aired in May 2025, with series 2 following in September 2026. And it follows in the tradition of other Channel 5 drama by being filmed in Europe.
Cosy crime fans will know that The Madame Blanc Mysteries is filmed in Malta, as was Jo Joyner thriller The Wives. So where was The Game on Channel 5 filmed, and what did the cast say about the location? Here’s everything you need to know…
Where is the Channel 5 series set?
The four-part series is set in the fictional UK town of Ripton. It’s a made-up nondescript town in the North of England. But that’s NOT where cast and crew filmed the episodes. They were actually filmed on location in the Basque Country.
Explaining why so many TV shows are now filmed overseas, Jason told us: “The series was shot in the Basque Country again. The dilemma of every production company right now is finding places to film where we can afford to shoot. Channel 5 and Clapperboard have a relationship with the guys in the Basque Country.
“I like to think of it as us defying Brexit. We are reaching across the ocean. That’s how I feel when we work there. My Basque is pretty good now. I speak enough to get by after two series, and I think they appreciate that people make the effort to connect in that way.”
The Teacher series 3 and Girl Taken were also recently shot in the Basque Country in Northern Spain.
Where was The Game on Channel 5 filmed?
Channel 5 thriller The Game was filmed in Spain – specifically Northern Spain, which is called the Basque Country or region.
Cast and crew, including leading stars Robson Green and Jason Watkins, arrived on location in 2024 and filmed in both Vitoria and Bilbao. Series 1 was split between Bilbao and Vitoria Gasteiz. Series 2 is filmed predominantly in San Sebastian, just down the road.
Talking about filming there, Sunetra Sarker explained: “I loved it. I don’t think I had ever thought of the Basque country. It has literally been the biggest surprise of anywhere I’ve been in Europe. I will absolutely return.”
She went on to say: “I loved San Sebastian. I did a day trip on my own and it’s like Paris by the sea. The food and the way that people live in the Basque country there is a real community spirit. It’s almost like they are under the radar, and they know it and they like it. They are just happily living a great life. I’ve recommended it to a few people.”
The Game filming locations: ‘Vitoria and Bilbao are both exceptional places’
Meanwhile, Jason Watkins laments the fact he did not have as much time as he would have liked to explore the filming locations.
He told us: “I suppose I’ve got to stop playing leading parts because you don’t get to see enough of where you are filming… But the Basque country is an amazing place. We filmed [series 1] in Vitoria and Bilbao, which are both exceptional places and very different.”
He went on to explain: “Bilbao is a post-industrial modern European city with the Guggenheim of course and an amazing football team. It has an old town with huge cultural inheritance that they still very much keep alive and pride themselves on with the language. I spoke and learned as much Basque as I could, which the whole crew appreciated.”
Jason even received a special gift at the end of the shoot, he added: “They gave me one of those red berets (a boina) that they wear, which I was completely poleaxed by. That was so sweet. I was an honorary Basque, which I know is not easily won.”
In fact, it was not the first time McDonald & Dodds actor Jason had filmed in the Basque Country. Twenty-five years ago, in 2000, he appeared in the movie Sabotage! It was a cult film with Stephen Fry and Dominique Pinon.
Jason revealed: “So, having worked there before, I have a sentimental attachment to the place. Families are very much at the centre of their social lives and their culture of singing and storytelling and going out all night dancing. I was drawn into the dancing a couple of times, which I thoroughly enjoyed.”
Robson Green on filming Channel 5’s The Game on location in Spain
Grantchester star Robson Green also loved filming The Game on location in the Basque Country, Northern Spain.
He told is: “Oh my God, talk about a distinctive sense of place, identity, culture, history, and heritage that is still intact. It’s there in the Basque Country.
“When I arrived in Bilbao, I went to the [art museum] Guggenheim straight away, then walked along the river and very quickly learnt about its identity and the language and what a proud people they are.”
He went on to describe San Sebastian saying: “San Sebastian is just a magical other worldly place where its history is so well preserved. This beautiful time capsule of a life lived and how it used to be. I did walks around San Sebastian beach. I ate a lot of seafood. Vitoria was gorgeous. I had time at the weekends to get out and about and learn a lot about the place. The food is exquisite. I came away with four kilos of their ham. It was a wonderful experience that I will treasure. I took a load of photographs.”
Returning to film series 2 there, Robson told us: “This time, I spent nearly eight weeks in a beautiful apartment overlooking one of the most idyllic beaches in Spain next to this extraordinary string of beautiful restaurants selling seafood. I’d walk to work sometimes along the beach going, ‘Nah, something bad is about to happen. It can’t be this good’.”
Key filming locations used in The Game series 2
- The tense scenes between Patrick and Huw were filmed at the university in San Sebastian, which is partly deserted. Robson revealed “the design team did a brilliant job of turning it into a prison”.
- Viewers might also recognise the distinctive cobbled, narrow streets of the city. The historic Old Town is packed with lively bars serving local Basque Country tapas known as pintxos.
- Gipuzkoa is the smallest province in Spain, located in the autonomous community of the Basque Country in northern Spain. This is where many of the dramatic cliffs, mountains, and beaches can be found, most notably Itzurun Beach in Zumaia. Itzurun Beach was also used in Game of Thrones.
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