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My UK city has a bad reputation but it’s finally going be huge this year – thanks to huge events and top TV show
Plus, the three of the Bridget Jones locations you can visit across the UK
BRADFORD has long been overlooked as a city break destination but it's about to get its moment in the sun.
The west Yorkshire metropolis is both the City of Culture for 2025 and star of a brand new BBC show called Virdee - starting tonight.
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Creator and executive producer of the new thriller, Amit Dhand, has spoken to The Sun Travel why we should be visiting Bradford and reveals his favourite best places to visit, including an old jailhouse bar with secret tunnels.
Amit, who grew up in Bradford, has based a series of novels on the city and can't get enough of the place he calls home.
He said: "This is the friendliest city in the UK. We love people coming to visit, and we talk a lot in Bradford - everyone loves talking to you."
Amit's new BBC thriller Virdee - a series that follows Detective Harry Virdee (played by Staz Nair), who has become estranged from his Sikh family after marrying a Muslim woman - starts tonight.
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At work, Harry suddenly becomes involved in the case of finding a killer who is targeting the Asian community in Bradford - which takes the show all over the city.
Bringing his books to life has given Amit the opportunity to showcase lots of his favourite spots - including one that is very well hidden.
"Sunbridge Wells is one of my favourite places in the city - the underground tunnels are totally unique and most people have never heard of them.
"It used to be the old jailhouse under the courtrooms and for years it was a secret space, where people held underground gigs, but now it's a whole underground arcade with bars, pubs and restaurants
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"It's dark, cool, quirky, and we used the venue in a pilot episode - but amazingly. no one knows that part of Bradford exists."
The Beatles even played at the former underground nightclub and in the prison cells as part of their 1964 UK tour.
Up at ground level, there are plenty of outdoor spaces worth visiting too, including another of Amit's favourite locations, City Park
He said: "The first time we meet Harry and his wife is in City Park, which is one of the biggest water fountains in England and we use that location throughout the show because it's such a beautiful space.
Exploring the UK's Most Underrated Cities
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"We're surrounded by natural beauty. Whatever you're looking for, we can provide, if you want a walk in the moors, you can veer off towards the Cow and Calf.
"It's a lovely walk and a really nice monument in the moors, and you can go to Betty's Tea Rooms."
In the middle of Bradford is Lister Park which Amit says is a place he gets a lot of his ideas. "I get a lot of ideas when I sit by the boating lake. It's a really beautiful, calm, and ambient place."
As for where to find good food, you don't have to look too hard.
"We have the best food. It's not a competition, but we have the best food in the whole of England. There are around 250 curry houses in Bradford. People talk about Brick Lane, but you want to come to Leeds Road."
While Amit sings the city's praises, he's aware that Bradford hasn't always had the best reputation over the years.
"Someone I know really well once said that after 2001, Bradford was a city that had PTSD and struggled to recover from what people thought of it."
Amit continued: "People only remember dark headlines, they love drama, because they love to look at stuff which is different. But those of us in Bradford have known that change was coming for a long time."
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"Every city has got good and bad, dark and light. For a long time we focused on the negative aspects of Bradford and didn't bother to look at the positives."
Being crowned the City of Culture 2025 means Bradford is celebrating across the city with new projects, live events and performances, which will continue throughout 2025.
Amit believes the city's new title will "do amazing things for Bradford" and that it's "really well-deserved".
He added: "We were always City of Culture, that's not a new phenomenon. For us in Bradford, we're bringing the title home that we know we've always had."
There were some notable locations in Bradford absent from the series, and one in particular that Amit hopes to include if Virdee returns.
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He said: "I really wanted to use the Bradford Waterstones. It's the greatest bookshop in the world because it is in the old Wool Exchange.
"It has 200ft high ceilings and it's the most magnificent building I've ever seen.
"I've never found them, but apparently there are underground tunnels that connect the Wool Exchange to the City Vaults pub across the road.
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"If you are coming to Bradford and want to have coffee in, go to Bradford Waterstones, because you will never, ever forget it."
Virdee will start on Monday 10 February, 9pm, BBC One.
Three Bridget Jones locations across the UK
Here are some of the most well-known filming locations for Bridget Jones...
The exterior scenes of Bridget's Zone 1 flat were filmed on 8 Bedale Street in Southwark around the corner from Borough Market looking out onto the train line. Bridget's flat is above The Globe Tavern pub (recently turned into a Thai restaurant) and has become a popular spot for fans to snap a picture of the most recognisable locations from the film.
A location outside of London that was used in the very first film was Stoke Park Hotel. where Bridget and Daniel took a romantic mini break. The grand country club and spa is found in Buckinghamshire and you don't have to book a room to enjoy the facilities - buy a day pass to visit the spa, grounds, or play a round of golf on the 27-hole course
The fight between Daniel and Mark for the second film where both of them end up brawling in a water fountain was meant to look like the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens. The scene was actually filmed five minutes up the road in the Italian Gardens at Lancaster Gate.
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