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Where is Ludwig filmed?
The setting for David Mitchell's detective series has a personal resonance for the actor.
BBC/Big Talk Studios/Colin Hutton
- James Hibbs
Published: Wednesday, 19 August 2026 at 2:50 pm
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It's time to return to Cambridge, as David Mitchell's comedy drama detective show Ludwig is back on the BBC for season 2.
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This time around, Mitchell's character, John 'Ludwig' Taylor, is working as an official crime scene consultant with Dipo Ola's Russell, but is secretly continuing his investigation into his brother James's disappearance.
Meanwhile, his sister-in-law Lucy, played by Anna Maxwell Martin, is following up her own leads, going to work for the local paper edited by Mark Bonnar's new character Gareth.
Of course, there are plenty of weekly murder cases to solve too, with guest stars including Stephen Merchant popping up throughout the run.
But where did Mitchell and the rest of his cast mates actually film the show? Read on for everything you need to know about the filming locations and setting for Ludwig.
Where is Ludwig set?
David Mitchell as John "Ludwig" Taylor, Anna Maxwell Martin as Lucy Betts-Taylor and Dylan Hughes as Henry Betts-Taylor in Ludwig. BBC/Big Talk Studios /Olly Courtney
Like so many detective dramas, Ludwig is set in one major location, and leans in to the specificities of the area.
In Ludwig's case, this is Cambridge – which happens to hold a particular place in David Mitchell's heart, as he did his undergraduate degree at the university there.
When asked about the show's setting during a Q&A for season 1, Mitchell said: "Yes, I was a student there, and I love Cambridge. I'm delighted that it was set in Cambridge, because I genuinely feel that having a picturesque context is such a key part of the genre.
"Obviously, Inspector Morse – set in Oxford. Miss Marple – set variously in different villages. Poirot and Sherlock Holmes – set in the past, which we all know is more aesthetically pleasing, despite the horrible time people had living through it."
More recently, ahead of season 2, Mitchell said of the city: "I went to university there, and I love it. You want people to enjoy slipping into this world like a pair of slippers, but with a dead body in them. Cambridge is obviously a great candidate for that. Inspector Morse is one of my favourite shows, but that was set in Oxford.
"That's where people want to escape to in this kind of program. I think you've got to have a beautiful setting to juxtapose with the nature of the crimes."
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Where is Ludwig filmed?
David Mitchell as John "Ludwig" Taylor in Ludwig. BBC/Big Talk Studios/Colin Hutton
Given the show's setting, unsurprisingly a lot of it was actually shot in Cambridge, with Mitchell speaking about returning to the area during a Q&A for season 1.
"I've been back a few times," he said. "It was nice to be there filming something, because when I was there, I desperately wanted to get into acting and comedy as a job. And so I thought, 'Oh, there, look at me. This is my job.' So that’s a nice return, in a way.
"But obviously, I think anyone who moves away from where they went to as a young person or as a student will know that when you go back, it's filled with an unbearable poignancy, which is part of the message that life conveys relentlessly that you're going to die one day.
"And so you look around the place, and you remember where you had fun when you were younger, the various rooms where friends of yours lived, and they're not there now. Other people are there now.
"And it's all about the terrible, sad passing of time, which is one of the things that we try and use television to distract people from."
When it comes to specific locations in Cambridge, the cast were spotted filming for the series around St John’s College, the Millpond and the River Cam.
Mitchell was also asked about some of his favourite locations used during season 1 as the setting for each crime, and said that doing one set in a stately home was "great" and "proper".
He continued: "But there's an episode where the crime is to do with a walking tour of Cambridge, and that's particularly nice because it's a lot of Cambridge exteriors.
"We shot that in January, but the weather was great, actually, it's sunny, and Cambridge looks lovely. I think that was probably my favourite sort of crime location."
There is also an episode where the crime takes place on a construction site, and while Mitchell called it a "great mystery", he said working on a building site "was not one of my childhood ambitions".
He continued, jokingly: "We were beneficiaries of the collapse of the British economy, because it's some buildings that people haven't got the money to finish. So we were allowed to film in them. But they probably won't be finished, they'll just be demolished."
When it was suggested the site could stand as a monument to Ludwig, to help boost the Cambridge economy, Mitchell said: "I can exclusively reveal that that location was not in Cambridge. The location is acting. It's pretending to be in Cambridge."
We know that the series also shot scenes at various locations in and around London.
Meanwhile, writing in his on-set diary for season 2, as published in Radio Times magazine, Mitchell did admit that the city is "an absolute nightmare to film in".
He wrote: "It looks great, but you have to bring in a lot of vehicles full of lights and cameras and actors and make-up artists, and this city wasn’t built for traffic.
"So they set up a 'unit base' on the outskirts of Cambridge, and baffled drivers who don’t know the area try to negotiate their way through with the aid of Google Maps until they reach some bollards and a Cyclists Only sign and I say, 'I can get out, I think I know the way from here.'"
Ludwig season 2 will be on BBC One at 9pm on Thursday 20 August 2026, and will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from the same date.
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Authors
James HibbsDrama Writer
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
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