Kim finds its prime time to start Scattered Pictures
THE star of 1 of children's TV 's most
loved shows has moved away from the spotlight and formed her own TV production
company. Newcastle (High Heaton) based actress Kim Tserkezie who played Penny
Pocket in the hit CBeebies series, Balamory has spent the last four years
researching and developing her new production company, Scattered Pictures which
will focus on North East talent both in front of and behind the camera lens.
BAFTA member Kim's role in Balamory led to her being voted in a national poll as
'the best representation of a wheelchair user on screen' and 1 of the 'most
influential disabled people in the UK.' She has worked alongside Robson Green
and Imogen Stubbs in ITV's prime time drama Blind Ambition and played in various
films and theatre productions as well as presenting programmes on BBC2. Now
however, she is using her TV experiences to write and produce home grown screen
projects in collaboration with some of the UK's most successful industry
leaders. The change in career originally came about out of a desire to create
more interesting roles for disabled actors.
Kim told us that:- "As a disabled actress it has been difficult to find
exciting character roles removed from the stereotypical portrayals of disabled
people. I decided that if the roles weren't there then it was up to me to create
them. In recent years the North East has also been a difficult place to find TV
work in despite a wealth of talent both behind the scenes and in front of the
camera. My aim is to nurture that talent, promote the area and bring quality,
prime time productions to the region. Every aspect of the production would be
locally sourced wherever possible including premieres of our work at iconic
places like the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle. This will be great for the economy
of the North East and will bring work not only for us, but also for others such
as actors, make up artists, camera operators, directors, catering staff and
location teams too."
Using the creative skills of fellow director Paul Green and other established
local writers such as Bridget Deane, Kim has set ambitious targets and goals
that are coming to fruition. Already leading broadcasters are showing interest
in their comedy slate which has received investment from Northern Film and Media
and a number of nationwide award winning production companies are in discussion
with them to co-develop projects.
1 such project is with Liverpool's Lime Pictures who are working with Scattered
Pictures on a prime time TV drama series based on Kim's original idea and one
that she is set to star in. the connection to Merseyside is that Lime Pictures
have offices in Liverpool, working predominantly on the hit TV show:- 'Hollyoaks',
but also on other projects and films. So this opens up more opportunities for
disabled people with in this area.
Rebecca Hodgson, Head of Drama at Lime Pictures is delighted to be working with
Kim. "Lime
Pictures are enjoying
collaborating with Scattered
Pictures
on the development of a 6 part television drama called Yamas set in a Greek
restaurant in Newcastle. Kim is a creative producer who brings a warmth and
charm to the development process."
