The next time you’re watching telly, sitting in the cinema or streaming a movie, things might just start to look a bit familiar.

Like all industries, the world of TV and film has had to adapt to the restrictions driven by the coronavirus crisis. As overseas locations have been off limits, it seems the Lake District and Cumbria have become more attractive, with a sharp spike reported in the number of film crews coming to the area.

Both Cumbria County Council and South Lakeland District Council have reported an increase in requests for permission to film.

Although the county council does not keep an exact record of such requests, a spokesman said it had definitely noticed a rise.

SLDC said since last July it had nine enquiries regarding filming on its land around Windermere or elsewhere, compared to four requests in 2018 and one in 2019. The number of requests regarding land it does not own also grew, with 15 since July compared to seven in 2019.

The filming work included shooting for BBC One’s Top Gear, with presenters Freddie Flintoff, Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris appearing at locations including the Windermere Ferry and Grizedale Forest.

The Lodore Falls Hotel and Spa, in Borrowdale, also had celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay stay while he was filming during June and ITV’s Good Morning visited the hotel in the same month.

“Seeing an increase of TV filming in the area has been a really wonderful opportunity for our hotels and the local area in general,” says deputy general manager Marcell Cilliers.

“It’s a great way to showcase the beauty of the region and get that well-needed tourism boost after the numerous lockdowns to help independent businesses recover.”

Another business that has benefited from the increase in filming in the area is Lakes Loos, based in Kendal, which has been providing a whole gamut of facilities for shoots including Netflix fantasy series The Witcher and Emily Bronte biopic Emily.

Filming took place for The Witcher in September and October last year at locations including Hodge Close quarry, near Coniston, and Rydal Water, while filming for Emily took place near Dent in the spring.

Superman actor Henry Cavill, who plays Geralt in The Witcher, posted pictures to Instagram while taking a run in the Lakes during a break from filming.

David Coxon, managing director of Lakes Loos, says he has made a concerted effort to court business from production companies which visit Cumbria and the surrounding area.

“I do chase their location managers and try and find out what’s going on,” he says.

"They can be massively demanding in the way they work, they'll happily ring up and ask for equipment to be in place within a few hours. Obviously, if you don't respond to that you don't get the work.”

Lakes Loos supplies much more than just toilets for the film companies, with equipment covering everything from quad bikes, trailers, gators - a type of quad bike with a small cabin - water bowsers and tower lights.

David, who started Lakes Loos seven years ago, says he understands The Witcher would normally be filmed in Hungary, but has been using the UK as a location due to the pandemic.

His work with the series has also taken him to Fountains Abbey, in Yorkshire, another location used by the cast and crew.

Lakes Loos also supplied equipment during the filming of Sky supernatural crime thriller The Rising, which was filmed in Keswick.

During filming for Emily David acted as a chauffeur for star Emma Mackey and also took Cillian Murphy for a number of trips in a gator while working on the shooting of Peaky Blinders in Preston.

“They’re incredibly clever people when you get talking to them,” he says.

The luxurious Armathwaite Hall Hotel and Spa, overlooking Bassenthwaite Lake, has also been used as a filming location over the last year; first for ITV’s Real Housewives of Cheshire in the spring and then for Netflix series Jack Whitehall: Travels with my Father, which is due to air next month.

ITV’s Long Lost Family - presented by Nicky Campbell and Davina McCall - was also recorded at the hotel in recent weeks.

General manager Simon Steele says the exposure is welcome, especially as the hospitality industry gets back on its feet during lockdown.

“Really for us it has been about driving awareness,” says Simon, who featured in Real Housewives of Cheshire himself, albeit behind a face mask.

“These film productions have really been a bit of fun during an unprecedented time for all of us.”

About 38 people, including eight of the wives, stayed at the hotel for six nights as an alternative to Dubai, which had been their intended destination before Covid travel restrictions came into place.

Simon says while the programmes bring valuable exposure when they are on TV, filming itself is also a great opportunity to gain coverage in the media and generate interest on social media.

“We have been extremely busy and we’ve certainly had a lot of people talking about it; it helped put the name of Armathwaite Hall on the map,” he says.