Your Questions

Locations and Props:

"Where in Manchester was Life On Mars filmed?" - Jackie Ogden, Scotland - but Mancunian!

Matthew Graham: Quite a lot in the city centre. The Police Station exteriors are in Stockport. CID, the pub and Sam's flat were sets built at BBC Manchester by our genius design team.

"Are the interiors of the police station really shot in a car park? I can't believe any offices like that exist - even in the 1970s." - Chris, Twickenham

Matthew Graham: The CID set was designed and built at the BBC Manchester studios and the look was inspired by films like Seven and All The President's Men. The idea is that it feels claustrophobic and a little alien and also that it is filled with archaic paperwork. But actually buildings like this were designed all the time in the 60s and 70s. They were built out of concrete with slitted windows and the architects claimed they could stand a nuclear war!

"How did you manage to get hold of the 'authentic' looking tissue boxes, the lucozade bottles, beer bottles etc?" - Charlotte, Oxford

"Where did you get the show's props, for example the Party 7 cans, clothes (Gene's funky driving gloves)? Did you spend a lot of money on ebay, or do you have another source?" - Mr Kinski, Bexleyheath

Matthew Graham: Our incredible art department provide it all. (I think they have a time machine.) Specialist props houses preserve all that stuff and we hire it in. The Party 7 tin was empty in real life! Also it was much smaller than I remember as a nipper.