Thriller set on Glasgow to London sleeper wraps up filming

Filming on a major new television drama wraps up this weekend in Cumbernauld.

Suspenseful thriller Nightsleeper, produced by Euston Films for the coveted BBC One Sunday evening 9pm slot, is set on an overnight train between Glasgow to London.

It stars Peaky Blinders and Gangs of London actor Joe Cole and Alexandra Roach, who has featured in Utopia and No Offence.

“It’s about a train, a night-sleeper train that is overtaken by a hijacking incident. And various things go wrong over the course of the journey,” said Joe.

“I’m on the train being part of the team trying to sort it out”.

A purpose-built set has been created at the Pioneer Film Studios – one of the largest film studios in Scotland. It’s complete with a life-size train set and video walls to make it seem like it’s moving.

The set is so realistic that actors have been taking motion sickness pills.

“They’re superb, they make you feel like you’re on the actual night sleeper itself,” said Scott Reid, who plays a member of train staff.

“We have these big screens at the window that make you feel like you’re on a journey.

“You see the outside world going past and that makes your job as an actor very easy.”

The location was chosen due to the sheer scale of the site, which many may recognise as the former Black and White whisky bottling plant.

“I love Glasgow – it’s really nice to come back here at length and it’s fantastic to see it becoming such a centre for filming,” added the show’s director Kate Harwood.

“It’s a city that’s got so much to offer and it’s great to find a space like this – a huge, post-industrial space – that we can put sets into.

“We haven’t been out into the city very much because 80% of our story takes place either on the train or at our cyber security set.

“But we have done a night shoot at Glasgow Central Station which was quite something – let me tell you!”

Like most nights at Glasgow Central – the Night Sleeper promises to have lots of drama.

Filming wraps up this weekend before the show rolls onto screens next year.