Julia Darling
in Retrospect

Cold Calling

NEW WRITER, NEW TALENT AND AN OLD WAY OF DOING THINGS

Tyne Tees Television turned the clock back to bring you a new situation comedy drama.
Cold Calling (Tuesday 5 August, 10.30 p.m.) is a screen adaptation of a theatre play penned by local writer JULIA DARLING for Newcastle's Live Theatre earlier this year.
Live in conjunction with local independent producer Peter Mitchell Productions thought it worthy of a television audience and submitted it as a candidate for The Hothouse series which features dramas and documentaries co-financed by Tyne Tees Television and Northern Film and Media with support from One NorthEast.
This one-act play starring local actors CHARLIE HARDWICK and TREVOR FOX was filmed in front of a LIVE audience in Studio 5 at Tyne Tees - something that hasn't happened there for many years.
Producer Peter Mitchell said: 'The recording went incredibly well. If it hadn't been for the experience of the Tyne Tees crew and the faith shown in the script by Northern Film and Media the project would never have got off the ground.
'Julia is a terrific writer and the performances of Trevor and Charlie were first class. The live audience helped tremendously and the actors really played to them. It was a rewarding experience.'
The play was directed by Max Roberts and Jeremy Herrin of Live Theatre.

~ from the Tyne Tees tv press release.

Footnote: The programme was only broadcast in the Tyne Tees area, but now the programmes have been shown on Tyne Tees Television, channel and film commissioners are being invited to develop the formats into features or series. Tom Harvey, Chief Executive of Northern Film and Media said: 'We very much hope that the work showcased here will end up being developed for Network television and International markets.' So if you live outside the Tyne Tees area and want to see the programme, pester your local ITV company!