Lights Camera Stirling

Stirling keeps turning up on screen, often when you least expect it. One day it’s a medieval stronghold or a gothic graveyard, the next it’s doubling for another city entirely and selling the illusion perfectly. We sit down with author and academic Tom Christie to unpack why filmmakers return to Stirling again and again, and what his new book Lights Camera Stirling reveals about the city’s hidden life as a film and TV location. Tom takes us behind the scenes of independent publishing with Extremis Publishing, the arts and culture press he runs with his sister Julie. We talk about how a small publisher balances editing, design, marketing and events, and why helping writers find their voice matters just as much as selling books. From there we get into the heart of the project: Stirling’s heritage, landscapes and cultural organisations, and how all of that combines to create a place directors can shoot across genres, decades and styles. Along the way we touch on 60 productions featured in the book, including titles like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Greyfriars Bobby, Good Omens and multiple versions of The 39 Steps. We also explore Stirling’s film education pedigree at Forth Valley College and the University of Stirling, plus the potential impact of the planned Stirling Studios on jobs, training and homegrown talent. If you care about Scottish filmmaking, film tourism, screen culture or the creative economy, this conversation is a smart, local lens on a fast-moving industry. Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, share the episode with a friend who loves film locations, and leave us a review so more people can find the Sterling Business Podcast. 👇 Timestamps 0:11 Welcome And Studio Booking 0:46 Meet Tom Christie And His Work 2:44 Running Extremis Publishing Day To Day 4:23 Tom’s Writing Life And Film Focus 6:03 Lights Camera Stirling Origin Story 7:27 Courses And The New Stirling Studio 9:37 Film And TV Locations Featured 11:04 How The Studio Could Change Stirling 13:56 Where To Buy The Book 14:28 Dundee Volume And Future Installments 15:47 How To Contact Tom And Closing 📍 Recorded at Studio King Street 🎬 Produced by Iain Johnston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnstonmediaa/ 🎙 Hosted by Neil Munday - LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-munday-88a1a91/ 🎙 Iain Johnston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnstonmediaa/ 👉 Subscribe for more conversations on business, tourism, and innovation in Scotland #StudioKingStreet #JohnstonMedia #BusinessPodcast #ScotlandBusiness #ScottishBusiness #SME #BusinessInnovation