On Location peels back the curtain on some of your favourite films, television shows, and more. Here, we go behind the scenes of How to Get to Heaven from Belfast.
Many a tear was shed when the final episode of Derry Girls aired in 2022. Millions of us had tuned in over the years to follow the antics of Orla, Erin, Michelle and James navigating school life during the final years of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the show’s departure from our screens left a shamrock-shaped hole in our hearts.
Thankfully, Derry Girls’ creator Lisa McGee has transported us back to the Emerald Isle with How to Get to Heaven from Belfast. The new six-part Netflix series follows three female friends Saoirse (Roisin Gallagher), Robyn (Sinéad Keenan) and Dara (Caoilfhionn Dunne) on a quest to solve a mystery via a road trip that takes in some of Northern Ireland’s most picturesque corners – with detours to Dublin and some sunnier European spots.
Here, we take a look at the real-life locations used in the filming of How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, from riverside scenes in London to the green pastures of Northern Ireland.
Belfast
Naturally, much of the action takes place in and around Belfast. Key locations include Titanic Studios, which doubled up as the filming set for Saoirse’s fictional Murder Code TV series, St Patrick’s Church, where we see the trio hiding from a determined hitwoman (Booker, played by Bronagh Gallagher) and Dockers Club, which plays the part of the Knockdara Hotel Ballroom.
We see glimpses of Belfast City Airport as the mystery takes an international turn, while The American Bar on Belfast’s Dock Street stood in for the Dublin bar that Dara, Saoirse and Robyn take shelter in.
