World on Fire filming locations: where in Northern Ireland is season 2 of BBC Second World War drama filmed?

World on Fire fans are over the moon that the show has finally returned to their screens after a four year break - especially as the first season ended on a massive cliffhanger.

Filming began for the second season last year, after long delays caused by the Covid pandemic, and the series has returned to BBC One now. Season two is set across Europe from late 1940 to 1941, and will follow the Manchester Blitz, and the North African campaign as well as returning to events in Nazi Germany and occupied France. 

Returning cast include Lesley Manville, Jonah Hauer-King, Julia Brown, and Zofia Wichlacz, whilst Mark Bonnar, Gregg Sulkin, and Grace Chilton are among the new cast members. 

Sean Bean, who starred in the first season, will not return to the role of the dedicated pacifist Douglas Bennett, due to the star’s scheduling conflicts.

As the global conflict heats up in the second season, the theatres of battle expand to new continents and to the land, air and sea in a war like none ever before experienced. This is everything we know so far about where World on Fire season two was filmed:

Where was World on Fire season 2 filmed?

The first season of World on Fire was filmed in Manchester as well as Prague, Zatec and Terezin in the Czech Republic.

Both seasons of World on Fire were produced by TV company Mammoth Screen, which has also produced major shows including Poldark, Endeavour, Noughts and Crosses, and The Serpent. 

Filming on season two began in Belfast, Northern Ireland in July 2022 and wrapped in September - many of the cast and crew shared snaps from Northern Ireland on social media during production.

Belfast is a popular filming location for many well-known shows, and BBC dramas Blue Lights and The Fall were also filmed there.

Other filming locations for the second series have not yet been revealed. Last year’s BBC wartime drama series SAS: Rogue Heroes, which also focused on the North African campaign, was filmed in the Sahara desert in Morocco, and it is possible that shooting for World on Fire also took place there.

Additionally, as the Manchester-set scenes in the first season were filmed in Wigan, it is likely that producers returned there to film the Manchester Blitz scenes for the second season.

Behind the scenes images shared by the BBC also show large elaborate sets were used for many scenes set in the Sahara desert, with what is essentially a large sandbox being used to replicate the desolate landscape.