Breaking into the TV and film industry in the UK can be notoriously competitive and difficult. 

Just ask those that know.

Katherine Kelly and Tony Pitts have both enjoyed successful acting careers (and, in the case of Tony, writing and directing) – and continue to do so – but found their ‘big breaks’ in very different ways. 

Katherine trained at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts (RADA), globally recognised as one of the most prestigious drama schools, whilst Tony was picked from obscurity by Ken Loach when attending Stannington College in Sheffield. 

Katherine has fulfilled her ambition of becoming a versatile actor and has since starred in the likes of Happy Valley, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Alan Partridge, In Flight and The Long Shadow whilst Tony – in his own words – ‘cornered the market in bad coppers’, appearing in the likes of Line of Duty, Peaky Blinders, Star Wars, War Horse and Giri/Haji.

The pair first worked together The Best Possible Taste for the BBC in 2012.

Now, the pair are pooling their collective knowledge of the industry to create original content and provide opportunities, advice and mentorship for the next generation of young people, specifically in the Yorkshire area. And that’s not necessarily just in front of the camera but behind it too.

“I think we’ve worked out that between us we’ve got nearly 70 years’ experience in the business,” said Tony. “Our region has extraordinary talent, what it’s not always had is equal access. We want to build something that produces great work and creates genuine opportunities for young people here. That means hands-on experience, time on set and practical skills that can lead to long-term careers.”

Barnsley-born Kate echoed these sentiments: “I grew up in Yorkshire and I know how distant this industry can feel when you have never had direct exposure to it. There are young people here with huge potential who simply need opportunity and encouragement. If we can help create clear routes into employment and keep creative talent in the region, that will be something to be proud of.”

Make Me Productions, which was launched at a glitzy ceremony at Barnsley’s Parkway cinema in March, has a clear purpose – to produce high quality screen content while creating genuine career pathways for young people across the region. 

The company are looking for 18-30-year-olds, those who have completed some form of formal training but then want to take the next steps. There’s a big emphasis on real world experience.

“No matter what, you can recreate a set in an educational environment,” explained Katherine. “You talk about it a lot and understand it but there’s actually being on the shop floor – that’s what we want to do, create lots of shop floors for people to not have to move away to pursue their dreams.”

“We want to tell kids they don’t have to leave to achieve,” added Tony. “I think for both of us, it’s harder now – and this is heart-breaking to me – for a working class kid to get into what we do than it ever has been and that can’t be right. 

“We’re trying to build access so we can find young takent and tell them they can be part of this world.”

Part of the steps Make Me Productions has taken is to establish a dedicated Community Interest Company (CIC) to deliver this real world experience in the form of structured placements, workshops and on-set experience for young people. 

Katherine and Tony will invite applications but will also be proactive in trying to find young people that are a good fit for their productions.

“We want to try and get the traffic going that way,” said Katherine. “I know things are more readily available on social media but you have to be in the known to be looking for that to be thrown up in your algorithm so we do want to make sure we’re searching for them as much as they’re searching for us.” 

Yorkshire will be very much at the heart of the company as they look to locate, nurture and develop talent as well as produce original work that is written, produced and filmed in the county.

“This might be romantic bias but I think the available landscapes to shoot in Yorkshire are second to none,” beamed Tony. “It’s about giving the place identity, above and beyond its industrial heritage. We absolutely do have some top-notch people on both sides of the camera.”

Tony is a gifted writer and is perhaps best known for penning the 2017 feature film, Funny Cow, which starred Maxine Peake, Paddy Considine, Stephen Graham and Sheffield singer-songwriter Richard Hawley, who also wrote the score for the film. Many of these people have remained close friends and have worked with Tony on successive projects. 

That familiarity has been a recipe for success for Tony who has created an almost ‘company’ of like-minded creatives who are always happy to lend their support – and talent.

“As actors we’re all seeking the next best script and there’s not a lot of them around,” explained Katherine. “When you get a jewel, you down tools to go and do it.”

The first slated Make Me Productions project will be Classic, which is currently in pre-production and will be filmed locally. 

“We’ve got an internationally-recognised cast [including Katherine] and it’s actually a study of adult children’s relationships with their parents but I’ve buried it in a story set in a classic car show.”

What makes the production company unique is that all of the writing will be done in-house, with Tony mentoring promising young writers, whereas most tend to use freelance writers and hire them on an ad hoc basis. 

Make Me Productions will have a broad slate of content, ranging from film, TV and radio to more modern incarnations such as YouTube shorts, TikTok and podcasts. 

To achieve their goals, Katherine and Tony have put a team together to tackle every eventuality. 

“It’s show and business,” laughed Tony. “We do the show and then we’ve got people around us to do the business. We’ve got some good Yorkshire business people around us who make those decisions.”

Fresh from the launch in Barnsley, work has started in earnest for Katherine and Tony as they start to identify the next generation of Yorkshire talent. Could you be their next star?

To find out more, follow Make Me Productions on Instagram: @make_me_productions, on X: @MakeMeProdu and on TikTok: @Make_me_productions

📷 Eddy Massarella