A major new television drama set in York and created by the writers behind the award-winning Ashes To Ashes and Life on Mars is due to begin this week.

Crews spent the summer in the city filming the drama Eternal Law, which tells the story of angels Zak and Tom, who are sent to work on earth as lawyers with the task of doing good.

A set was made in Purey Cust Nuffield Hospital and the crew filmed in locations including St William’s College, the Minster, Stonegate and a dramatic scene in which the lead characters gaze over the city while perching on the top of York Minster.

Actor Samuel West said: “Filming in York was such a pleasure. York is an incredibly welcoming city. It can be very disruptive to do a major series in the middle of a city that small, but we felt very welcome and it was beautiful in every sense. The city is a major character in the drama.”

Writers Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham said the programme promises to make the city look spectacular.

It is the first time a television series has been filmed entirely in and around York – previous films and TV dramas part filmed in the city include the Robinson Crusoe television series, Harry Potter and the coronation of Elizabeth I in the film Elizabeth, starring Cate Blanchett, which was filmed in York Minster.

In 2008, former BBC director general Greg Dyke described York as the “Dubrovnik of the North” and told Visit York the city should do all it could to market itself through television drama.

Coun Sonya Crisp, cabinet member for Leisure, Culture and Social Inclusion, said: “I’m absolutely over the moon the makers of Eternal Law chose to film here. I will be actively encouraging film companies to approach the city council to do more filming in York. What better setting could any film company have? Whatever setiing they are looking for we have – modern, historical and cultural.

“I think Eternal Law will reflect what we have to offer and I would be pleased to hear from other film or television companies.”

The cast of Eternal Law includes Samuel West, of Van Helsing and Any Human Heart fame, Ukweli Roach, and Orla Brady, who starred in Mistresses.

The six-part series will begin on ITV1 at 9pm on January 5.

• Don’t miss our two-page behind the scenes piece on the making of Eternal Law in Wednesday’s Press.