Billy Postlethwaite follows father's footsteps at Shropshire visitor centre
Actor Billy Postlethwaite has followed in the footsteps of his famous father in narrating an exhibition set to open in a visitor centre.
Billy, son of the late Hollywood star Pete Postlethwaite, is now making a name for himself, having most recently been seen on-screen in Game of Thrones.
He will also be heard as the voice on a new film that will part of a permanent exhibition at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms, which is set to officially open on Monday.
His father, who was also based in Shropshire and died in 2011, narrated the visitor centre’s original film when it first opened in 2001.
Now Shropshire based film-makers Tom Middleton and Miche Parkinson, who operate as SMN Film, have taken to the skies using cutting-edge drone technology for a brand new panoramic film.
They have been making the most of the sunshine over the past few weeks filming at locations around south Shropshire including Clee Hill, Bury Ditches, the Clun river valley, Ludlow and the Stiperstones.
Middleton, a qualified drone pilot, said: “We live in such a beautiful part of the world. We travel and work throughout Europe as film-makers and it’s always a joy to come back home to Shropshire.
“It’s been a real honour to be able to showcase the spectacular scenery, stories and history of the area in this new film. We shot all of our footage using the DJI Inspire 2 drone, one of the highest quality commercial aerial cameras on the market.
“All the footage was filmed at a really high rate, 5.2k, which means it will look incredible when it’s projected onto a large screen.”
Billy, who appeared as a soldier in a scene alongside singer Ed Sheeran in episode one of the new seventh season of Game of Thrones, said: “Shropshire is my home but, more than that, it’s in my blood.
“I was brought up on its hills, in its valleys, woods and rivers, it’s shaped every fibre of my being.
“Tom, Miche and Liz have done an incredible job showing us this landscape that we know so well in a modern and exciting new way, so it is a great honour to be lending my voice to this beautiful project celebrating Shropshire.”
Miche Parkinson added: “We were delighted when Billy came on board to narrate the film, he’s a real rising star and in demand as an actor across stage and screen – we were lucky to find a gap in his schedule.
"Having grown up here, he’s familiar with all of the places featured. We’re really proud of the finished film and we can’t wait for everyone to see it.”
Work on the new Discovery Centre exhibition has been going on for the past two months.
Along with the new film are new interactive displays and games exploring Shropshire Through Time, from the ice age through to present day, covering everything from the diet of the centre’s famous mammoth to the local food content of medieval banquets.
Sue Allen, retail manager at the centre, who has been a member of staff since it opened in 2001, said: “It has been great to see this film come together and projected on to the new screen in the rotunda, it really is quite special.
"The whole space seems completely different now it has the new floor and the interactives and games look great fun, too. We can’t wait to share it with our visitors.”
The exhibition will be launched on Monday with Craven Arms councillor David Evans cutting the ribbon at 9.15am.
