Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent heads up the starry cast of a film about the Great Train Robbery being filmed in Bradford.

Locations in Bradford have been used as significant 1960s scenes for two films, A Robber’s Tale and A Copper’s Tale, by the writer of hit TV drama Broadchurch.

Due to be shown on BBC1 this summer to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the robbery, the films tell the story from the point of view of the gang whose audacious crime provoked the wrath of the establishment, and of Detective Superintendent Tommy Butler and the team of detectives he assembled to bring the robbers to justice.

Made by World Productions, the two dramas have been shot in Bradford, with locations including City Hall reception rooms, transformed into the Home Secretary’s office, textile manufacturers Bulmer & Lumb in Buttershaw, the Fountain Cafe in the Oastler Centre and Oxenhope Railway Station.

The Bradford Club doubled as a Leicester hotel where one of the robbers was arrested. Manager Peter Townsend said filming took place over an afternoon and included a chase scene through the club.

“They did some filming in the old billiard room, as the robber was arrested while playing snooker,” he added.

A Robber’s Tale, about the men behind the heist, is told from the perspective of gang leader Bruce Reynolds.

It shows how the robbery was planned, rehearsed and executed, with the action going from November 1962 to the night of August 8, 1963, when a mail train from Glasgow was targeted for a then-record haul of £2.6 million, equivalent to around £40 million today.

Writer/executive producer Chris Chibnall said: “The Great Train Robbery has passed into modern folklore. How fantastic that such a magnificent bunch of talented young stars have come together for our first film, to tell how one gang planned – and almost got away with – the British Crime of the Century.”

A Copper’s Tale, starring Jim Broadbent, Tim Pigott-Smith, Robert Glenister and James Fox, shows how the police carried out their operation in the glare of the nation, trying to identify each criminal involved and put them behind bars before they fled the country.

Mr Broadbent, who plays Tommy Butler, said: “I have such strong memories of the massive impact of the actual robbery. It’s wonderful to find out from the script so much of the real story. Tommy Butler is a fascinating copper of the old school.”

Executive producer Simon Heath described the robbery as an “iconic piece of British history”.

He added: “The story behind the capture of the robbers, brilliantly told by Chris Chibnall in this second film, is less well-known, but just as thrilling.”

The production is supported by Screen Yorkshire as part of a £2 million investment from its Yorkshire Content Fund for five new TV productions. The others are VE Day drama Girls’ Night Out; action thriller ‘71, set against the Troubles in Northern Ireland; gritty chase movie Catch Me Daddy; and comedy road movie A Miracle.

One of Screen Yorkshire’s most significant production slates, it is expected to attract millions of pounds of inward investment, create jobs and generate additional business for local companies, as well as putting the region on screens worldwide.

The Yorkshire Content Fund recently invested in six-part BBC2 epic gangster drama Peaky Blinders, partly filmed in Bradford last autumn.