Billy Elliot

Stephen Daldry's 2000 film about a miner's son who takes up ballet during the 1984–85 strike, set in the fictional County Durham village of 'Everington' and shot mostly in Easington Colliery, with about 400 villagers as extras; with Easington's own pit closed, the mining scenes were filmed at Ellington and Lynemouth in Northumberland.

The mining history in this record

Lee Hall developed the film from his play Dancer, given a rehearsed reading at the Live Theatre in Newcastle in 1998. The story is set in 1984–85: Billy's widowed father Jackie and older brother Tony are miners on strike, Tony a union delegate, and the ballet class Billy stumbles into is using the boxing gym because its own studio has become a soup kitchen for the strikers. Tony is arrested in a clash between police and pickets, and Jackie tries to cross the picket line to pay for his son's audition.

Principal photography began in August 1999 and lasted seven weeks. Most of the film, including the interior of the Elliot home at '5 Alnwick Street', was shot in Easington Colliery, whose pit had closed in 1993; the producers used over 400 local people as extras. Movie-locations.com places Billy's house on Andrew Street, the police chase on Anthony Street and Mrs Wilkinson's drop-off at the top of Angus Street, all in Easington Colliery. Because Easington no longer had a working pit, the mining scenes were shot at Ellington and Lynemouth in Northumberland; producer Jon Finn said the team had not realised how hard it would be to find working pits. Further scenes were filmed in Dawdon, including Embleton Street, down which Billy dances, and Dawdon Miners' Welfare Hall, where his father hears the strike is over. Gary Lewis, who played Jackie, met miners in preparation and had himself supported the strike.

People

Stephen Daldry (director); Lee Hall (writer, from his play Dancer); Jamie Bell (Billy), Gary Lewis (Jackie Elliot), Jamie Draven (Tony Elliot), Julie Walters (Mrs Wilkinson); producers Greg Brenman and Jon Finn.

Legacy today

Billy Elliot premiered at Cannes on 19 May 2000 under the title Dancer and opened in Britain on 29 September 2000. It won three BAFTAs, Jamie Bell becoming the youngest winner of Best Actor, and was nominated for Academy Awards. It became a novel by Melvin Burgess (2001) and Billy Elliot the Musical (2005), which is also set in Easington and names the village in its lyrics. Andrew Street and Alnwick Street, among the streets used, were demolished after becoming derelict. Ellington, where the underground scenes were shot, closed in 2005 as the last deep mine in the North East coalfield.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Most of the film, including the Elliot home interior, was shot in the Easington Colliery area in 1999, with over 400 local people used as extras. (documented fact) ^1,2
• With Easington Colliery closed, the mining scenes were filmed at Ellington and Lynemouth in Northumberland. (documented fact) ^2,3
• Embleton Street and Dawdon Miners' Welfare Hall in Dawdon were used for scenes in the film. (documented fact) ³
• Billy's house was 5 Andrew Street, Easington Colliery (dressed as 5 Alnwick Street); Anthony Street and Angus Street were also used; the house's street has since been demolished. (documented fact) ^2,3
• The film premiered at Cannes on 19 May 2000, opened in the UK on 29 September 2000, and won three BAFTAs, Jamie Bell becoming the youngest Best Actor winner. (documented fact) ²
• The film is set in the fictional County Durham village of Everington during the 1984-85 miners' strike; Billy's father and brother are striking miners. (documented fact) ²

Mines

• Dawdon Colliery — County Durham
  Dawdon's Miners' Welfare Hall and Embleton Street were locations for the film.
• Easington Colliery — County Durham
  The film's 'Everington' was shot in Easington Colliery village in 1999, six years after the pit closed, with about 400 villagers as extras.
• Ellington Colliery — Northumberland
  The film's mining scenes were shot at Ellington and Lynemouth, because Easington no longer had a working pit.
• Lynemouth Colliery — Northumberland
  Named with Ellington as the location of the film's mining scenes.

Regions

County Durham, Northumberland

Related Culture records

• The Ashington Group
  Lee Hall wrote both Billy Elliot and The Pitmen Painters, the play about the Ashington Group.

Sources

1. (secondary) Easington Colliery — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Billy Elliot — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Filming locations for Billy Elliot (2000) — The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations

Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 17 September 2026