Powering a new wave of regional screen indies

Mention that a television show is made in the North East, and programmes featuring regional landmarks and accents spring to mind.

However, the reach of our homegrown talent goes beyond showcasing the North East, with local companies now winning more national commissions.

You may have noticed The Feud from Lonesome Pine topping the Netflix charts recently.

This marks the first time a North East-based company has won a drama commission in more than ten years, thanks to Ben Frow’s team at 5 being willing to take risks with new companies.

This isn’t the only success.

Just four years ago, only two regional companies were regularly winning broadcast commissions.

Today, that number has quadrupled, and these eight companies are now securing contracts to produce bolder, more diverse and in-depth content.

Of course, this transformation didn’t happen by chance; it’s the result of hard work and resilience, backed by sustained, bespoke interventions and investment driven by the North East Screen Industries Partnership (NESIP), delivery partner North East Screen and broadcasters.

And partnership is the key word, because it truly does take a village to raise, and sustain, a whole sector.

Over the last few years, North East Screen has proactively forged lucrative broadcast collaborations, designed and delivered development initiatives, and invested funds to help ambitious regional and relocating companies make their mark.

Crucially, we have been building and strengthening broadcast relationships, resulting in sustained collaboration with commissioners from BBC Daytime, BBC England, BBC Comedy, BBC Digital & Youth Audiences, BBC Audio Comedy, BBC Writers, Channel 4 Digital and, most recently, 5.

This has unlocked direct opportunities for pitching, development and production.

It means our wraparound interventions are industry and market aligned, bolstered by intensive leadership development, one-to-one editorial and business sector expertise from active specialists with experience behind them, relevant networks and a firm commitment to make a difference.

And the results are there for all to see.

ITV Signpost Productions and Rivers Meet Productions forged a new partnership that won four BBC Daytime commissions for Robson Green’s Weekend Escapes.

This has not only produced great content but served as a key driver for tourism and supply chain growth in the region.

They’ve since gone on to add more wins to their slate.

Gateshead’s Twenty Six 03 have won and delivered multiple daytime commissions, demonstrating incredible resilience and an ability to pivot for new markets, from Angels of the North to The Big Idea Works and the recently released Sara Davies’ Christmas Craft Off for ITV.

We’ve also seen Gateshead’s multi-award-winning global factual sports company FilmNova land a first feature-length documentary, championed by North East Screen consultant Alice Keens-Soper, and notably resulting in them producing Torvill and Dean: Our Last Dance for ITV’s coveted Christmas schedule this year.

Meanwhile, Newcastle’s Northern Child added BBC commissions Tough Talking, Northern Justice and Jordan North: The Truth About Vaping to the company’s rapidly-growing 5 portfolio.

They were also commissioned by Channel 4’s digital team to produce a digital-first documentary exploring 3D-printed firearms, titled Plastic, Printed & Deadly.

This has gone on to win a broadcast digital award and influence changes in law.

Other companies are also moving at pace, such as Middlesbrough-based Wander Films, which recently positioned itself firmly on the ladder after being named as one of just eight Channel 4 small indie fund winners across the UK.

This comes hot on the heels of it winning co-productions for 5 and multiple BBC Our Lives and Morning Live commissions.

Sunderland’s Second Draft, Hartlepool’s Sea & Sky Pictures and Newcastle’s Rock Paper Productions have also all won their first BBC broadcast commissions.

Our Comedy Hot House collaboration has seen success in bringing breakthrough scripted comedy talent to Channel 4 and BBC through a range of digital comedy opportunities, a BAFTA-nominated short film Where it Ends, and Gateshead’s Candle and Bell have also had recent successes with BBC 3 and Radio 4 with their audio comedy Tom & Lauren are Going OOT.

All of this is, of course, very much reliant on having talented, resilient, ambitious and creative producers ready to seize opportunities and run with them.

It also relies on organisations like NESIP, North East Screen and industry leaders, who are committed to driving collaborative industry growth that will bring in bigger budget and higher volume series to the region.

The screen landscape is still in flux, but now there are more of us in the running, it’s likely we’ll see a significant increase in homegrown programmes being broadcast nationally and internationally.

Together, we are building a sustainable, diverse future pipeline of suppliers for the UK’s creative economy.

And the region is reaping the rewards.

Lisa Laws is development director at North East Screen

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