The new Harlan Coben thriller lands on Netflix on January 1 – and spotting all the Greater Manchester locations is all part of the fun
06:55, 01 Jan 2026Updated 07:57, 01 Jan 2026
James Nesbitt plays Simon Greene in new Netflix drama Run Away, as he hunts his daughter Paige (played by Ellie de Lange)(Image: Netflix)
The gripping new Netflix drama Run Away, adapted from the hit thriller by Harlan Coben, begins streaming on January 1 and is set to be the new big binge watch for the new year. And for viewers here in the north west, part of the fun of watching the drama unfold is spotting all of the locations across Manchester and the wider region that have been used for the dramatic action.
The new series transports the action from New York in Coben’s book to the north west of England as a devoted dad is seen desperately hunting for his daughter who has run away. It is the latest in a series of hit adaptations from Coben books in recent years by Netflix, working in conjunction with Manchester’s Quay Street Productions.
And, once again, a host of locations across Greater Manchester and the wider region have become the perfect backdrop to intense scenes played out in the new drama. In Run Away, Cold Feet star James Nesbitt stars as Simon Greene and film star Minnie Driver as his doctor wife Ingrid Greene.
Their daughter Paige (played by Ellie de Lange) has run away after leaving the palatial family home to go to University. The drama follows Simon’s quest to try and find her, uncovering ever bigger secrets and dramas along the way as well as flashbacks to what has happened in the past.
The show plays out across eight episodes which all go live on Netflix from January 1, 2026.
From the opening moments, Greater Manchester is seen on screen, with Simon heading to a park in his quest to find his daughter, only to realise she is busking next to a fountain.
We spoke to series producer Guy Hescott about some of the key locations used for the drama, and what viewers can expect from Run Away.
Guy said: “With this series we wanted scale, we wanted this to be a massive world, with Paige very much a needle in a haystack. We’re creating our own world, that’s the fun about it.
“The Harlan stories are always a mission, it’s about going out to find something. This was a particularly challenging story to do with four different strands, four different searches, everyone is getting in their car and going somewhere so there’s a lot of movement to the show.”
Here’s more on the locations used.
The park – chase scenes
Simon’s daughter Paige is seen busking in a park – this scene was filmed at Alexandra Park in Oldham(Image: Netflix)
The action begins with Simon given a clue to the location of his missing daugher in a park. As he sits despairing on a park bench, he suddenly notices a girl busking near a fountain is actually his daughter Paige.
The location here was the beautiful Alexandra Park in Oldham. Paige is seen busking near the central fountain at the park, before running away when she realises her dad has found her.
It was also one of the biggest scenes for the film crew to create. Guy explains: “We had 200 extras on that day, it was a big scene, and you’ve got to fill that space, make it feel busy. We had cranes, drones, it’s what kicks off the action.”
There’s also a distinctly Manc sound to the action, as the song Paige is playing in the park is Bury band Elbow’s anthem One Day Like This.
In the original Harlan Coben book, the character of Simon finds his daughter in Central Park playing a song by The Beatles, but that wasn’t possible to use in the drama.
Guy explains: “In the book Simon finds her in Central Park playing Strawberry Fields, so Harlan was very keen for her to play a Beatles song – but the cost was extraordinary.
“We needed the right kind of song, recognisable, playable, so we reached out to Elbow and were over the moon when they said yes, I don’t think they’ve given permission for it to be used before.”
Sefton Park was also used for the chase scenes as Simon is embroiled in a violent confrontation that sees him go viral.
University scenes
“Lanford University” in the drama was filmed at the Hope University campus in Childwall(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The opening of each episode shows the imposing university building where Paige had gone to study at. And throughout the drama a number of universities feature in the action.
The exterior building that doubles as “Lanford University” where Paige studies is actually the former St Katharine’s College in Liverpool (now part of Hope University) which ex-students will no doubt recognise from the imposing green steeple.
But the interior scenes and quadrangles that Paige, students and her family are seen walking through were a combination of a number of universities in Manchester and Liverpool.
Manchester University was also used for scenes to become “Lanford University” in the drama(Image: Netflix)
Guy explains: “It’s a variety of places, Hope Unveristy in Liverpool and Manchester University were segued together, partly that’s to do with the schedule.
“Sometimes it’s Paige’s University, her brother Sam’s university, then Simon also tracks down Paige’s lecturer who is now at a different university. Our challenge was how do we show these as clearly different places? We gave Lanford a more Oxbridge vibe, while Sam’s university is more techy.”
The Greene family home
Inside the Greene family home (Image: Netflix)
The Greene family are clearly doing alright for themselves, with Simon big in finance and Ingrid a paediatric surgeon. So, naturally, their home in the series has to represent that.
In the Harlan Coben novel, the couple live in Manhattan, but transporting them to the UK was the first challenge for producers.
Guy said: “In the book the family live in Manhattan, but one of the challenged was that families here, big successful families don’t tend to live in the city, they move out, so trying to get the right vibe was challenging.”
They found the perfect house, a detached Edwardian manor, in Altrincham, although most of the interiors, including that massive kitchen, were shot in a plush house in nearby Alderley Edge.
Guy said: “We wanted it to feel like a big fancy house in Holland Park”.
Police Station
It’s the police station in Netflix Run Away – but in real life it’s Manchester’s Crown Square(Image: ABNM Photography)
In the drama we often see the characters comimg in and out of the Bank Street Police Station. But in real life, viewers will have spotted straight away that it’s the imposing exterior of Manchester Crown Court at Crown Square that doubles as the fictional police station.
Filming was only allowed to take place at weekends, when the courts were not in use. Producer Guy says: “It took a long time to get those permissions through”.
While you will see the detectives coming and going here, it was only the exterior used for the fictional police station. The interior of the police station was all purpose built in a disused building in the Northern Quarter.
Cafe scenes
Ruth Jones at Cafe Minna in Netflix’s Run Away(Image: Netflix)
Gavin & Stacey star Ruth Jones is first introduced in the action having dognapped a dog in a park, before heading to Cafe Minna to contact the owner.
Minna is a real cafe in the Lark Lane area of Liverpool, just close to Sefton Park where the dognapping scenes were filmed.
She then arranges to meet the dog’s owner in her cafe business, a vegan cafe called Finch & Leaf. It’s here we discover that she is Elena Ravenscroft, a private investigator.
Elena (Ruth Jones) meets up with Simon (James Nesbitt) at the fictional Finch & Leaf cafe which is actually Evelyn’s in the Northern Quarter(Image: PA)
Elena is then seen several times back at Finch & Leaf, including meeting with Simon to help him in tracking down his missing daughter.
While the name of the cafe might be fictional, the setting is indeed a real restaurant – it’s Evelyn’s in the Northern Quarter. Although it’s not vegan, it has a full menu for both meat-eaters and veggies.
City centre scenes
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
We get to see lots of Manchester city centre in the drama, including in the panoramic cityscape scenes where the Deansgate Towers loom large.
Simon is also seen travelling to his office in the city centre, where we see him drive around King Street. But the offices that were used for the filming inside his office were actually on Spinningfields.
The Northern Quarter is also seen in several scenes during the show, while chase scenes were also played out in Liverpool city centre on Faulkner Street.
St John’s Gardens, near to the old Granada Studios, also double for university gardens in one scene during the show.
Estate flats / murder scene
The Marindique estate was filmed in Dukinfield(Image: MCPIX)
The Marinduque estate in the drama is the setting for some of the thriller’s darkest scenes, when we discover the murder of a key character here.
Simon is also seen heading here on his quest to find answers, encountering drug dealers and gangsters along the way.
The estate flats were filmed off Hill Street in Dukinfield. Tameside Council confirmed the filmimg here earlier in the summer, posting: “James Nesbitt and Minnie Driver have been spotted near Hill Street, Dukinfield, filming scenes for the new Netflix drama “Run Away”.”
Producer Guy explained that they had to make the estate look gritty to become part of the “chaotic world” in the drama.
He said: “It’s actually really smart and clean, they are blocks of flats but well looked after, so our team went in and created all the graffiti on there.
“We did it on canvas and strapped it to the side of the building and we had to bring in mess and junk. The residents were very generous, a lot would watch as we filmed. Filming can often be disruptive, but also people can be excited that we are filming in their neighbourhood.”
While characters are seen descending to a drug dealer’s den on the estate, the interior of this den was actually set in the Northern Quarter.
The hospital
Minnie Driver plays surgeon Ingrid Greene in Netflix’s Run Away(Image: Netflix)
Lots of scenes take place in the hospital, not least because the character of Ingrid is a surgeon there.
As violent scenes progress during the action, characters are also seen receiving treatment, while there are also flashback scenes of Ingrid and other characters at the hospital as the story unfolds.
Producers initially struggled to find somewhere to film, given most real hospitals cannot spare the space for a full on film crew.
They eventually found the perfect location at the Alderley Park science park in Cheshire. The front of the hospital is real buildings on the site here, that film crews were able to film on weekends.
The Corval Inn
In episode three, Simon’s quest for answers takes him to the family of Aaron Corval, at “The Corval Inn” which is described as an animal park where kids play.
In real life, the location was at Tatton Park Farm in Cheshire, which is also a place where children can meet the animals at certain times of the year. At Christmas the farm is also where children get to meet Santa.
Producer Guy said: “They were great at Tatton Park and have a lot of experience for filming. “
Remote pub on the Moors
Filming began on a very windy Saddleworth Moor at the former Great Western Inn(Image: MCPIX)
Also in episode 3, Simon is seen chasing after Aaron’s stepmum which leads him to a remote moorland location. He confronts her at an old pub, which was the former Great Western Inn in Marsden.
This was actually the very first day of filming the series, on a freezing cold Saddleworth Moor.
Guy explains: “This was the first day of filming and it had been snowing, but when we got there it was all gone. Bless him, Jimmy on day one his teeth were chattering it was that cold.”
Tattoo Parlour
Another grisly scene takes place at a tattoo parlour. This was filmed in a real tattoo parlour in Liverpool.
Guy says: “Geographically we wanted a parlour with a back door and a front door with an alleyway. Trying to get that sequence, we wanted to hand hold the camera. It is a real tattoo parlour in Liverpool, we toured all the tattoo parlours of the north west to find it.”
Sebastian’s white mansion
Private investigator Elena is seen heading to the house of wealthy businessman Sebastian Thorpe who is trying to find his son Henry who has also gone missing.
It’s a large white mansion, and it was actually one of the first places the film crew looked at.
Producer Guy said: “That was one of the first places we looked at and filmed, it’s in Prestbury.
“Some people offer up their houses, but if we’re looking for things quite specific we’ll knock on doors and say would you be interested, this one was an ex-footballer’s house.”
The creepy old cottage
The Bonnie and Clyde duo of Dee Dee and Ash are seen heading on their road trip to the creepy old cottage where they grew up as the adopted children of an abusive carer.
The cottage in question was a derelict house in Altrincham that producers had initially looked at to use for the last Netflix drama, 2024’s Missing You.
But it became the perfect fit for this creepy, and blood-curdling scene in Run Away.
The Shining Light cult mansion
Detective Isaac Fagbenle (played by Alfred Enoch) seen on the search for answers which leads to a cult retreat(Image: Netflix)
As the series reaches its dramatic conclusion, the action heads to a creepy cult, which is set up in a sprawling countryside retreat.
This was all filmed in the Peak District in the grounds of the Thornbridge Hall Estate near Bakewell.
While in the show it’s the setting for many dastardly deeds, in real life the hall and estate are a popular family destination with regular house tours and an on-site cafe.