Pollard Street

Life on Mars was a TV crime drama come mystery drama series which was originally aired by the BBC and was set in 1970’s Manchester.

The main character is Detective Chief Inspector Sam Tyler, played by actor John Simm, who in 2006 is involved in a car accident and wakes up to find himself having travelled back in time to 1973.

The BBC filmed extensively in and around Manchester city centre and when Sam wakes up in 1973, he is on some waste ground surrounded by derelict building roughly where New Islington Metro Station is now located. The chimney of Albion Mills is still recognisable in the background although much of the area has changed a great deal since Life on Mars was filmed.