[stordoff]

> Wikipedia says the UK uses various area codes for the same thing, including 011x and 01x1.

Ofcom has set aside blocks of numbers within many different area codes for dramatic use[1]. The note on Wikipedia about 011x and 01x1 is that the reserved numbers in those (real) area codes usually end with 496 0xxx (so, for instance, 0114 496 0000 to 0114 496 0999 are reserved numbers in the Sheffield/0114 area - other 0114 numbers may be allocated to real customers).

[1] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/phone-numbers/...