Shropshire-made TV pilot Henry House needs help to survive
A locally-produced TV pilot has hit disaster, and the team behind it are looking for help.
Earlier this year, production was almost wrapped on Henry House – a TV pilot being independently produced in Gobowen.
Starring newcomer Órla Jones and ex-Blue Peter presenter Peter Purves, Henry House was to follow the story of a family-run care home and the unlikely friendship formed between a young receptionist and a new resident with dementia.
Filming – which had taken place in partnership with Derwen College – had almost been completed when the unthinkable happened, and Purves broke his wrist in two places while off set.
With the actor fitted with a cast that could not be disguised, director Gareth Thomas and production manager Luke Allen were forced to admit that Purves could not continue filming without there being obvious continuity errors. The entire pilot would have to be re-shot at a later date if it were to be saved.
The problem was, as production was so close to completion, the budget had almost been fully spent.
"It was the night before one of the biggest weekends of filming in the whole schedule, involving some of the biggest scenes with Órla, who is the lead star," said Gareth. "Peter was due to travel in. We'd already had some issues that weekend with Covid and various different things, but had so far overcome every obstacle and had a bit of an 'invincibility feel' about ourselves. But when this happened, we just didn't have an answer to this one.
"I had a conversation with Luke and Órla, who is also my co-producer, and we realised that there really was no way out of this. We wondered if we might be able to cover Peter's cast up, but it came right over his knuckle and there was no way of getting round it. We had some really big, physical scenes to do where you would have clearly seen his hands. After wracking our brains and exploring any possible solution, we realised our best shot was to stop filming altogether and take a massive gamble on hoping we could appeal to enough people to help us find the money to start again."
With the production in turmoil, the suggestion was made that Gareth, Luke and the rest of the Rocking Horse Media team write in an explanation for Purves's cast into the script. However, this was not felt to be a practical option.
"Any TV pilot is produced with the hope and expectation of being picked up and green lit," said Gareth. "We had put so much money into the set design to make sure things were so consistent. So many people said to us 'why don't you just write it in?'. For a start, we had filmed things out of sequence. So if we had done that we would still have had to re-shoot a large proportion of things. Because of this it was just as cost effective to start again – even though we are taking a massive gamble that if this money doesn't materialise, we can't finish it. But if we found a way to scrape through as it was, it would never have been picked up because you would have known what happened before the broken wrist and after it."
As well as Purves – also a Doctor Who alumnus who was taking on his first dramatic TV role in over 50 years – Henry House had featured a number of big-name British stars including Mark Benton and Annette Badland. The question was, would all those who had already completed their work on the project be on board with coming back to re-film at a later date?
"We spoke to Annette Badland and said, 'we know you've finished all your stuff, but would you be willing to come back and do it all again because of this?'," said Luke. "And she was like, 'Oh of course, that's horrible'. She'd never known anything like this happen, and also didn't question that we needed to do this, which helped us feel it was the right decision."
"Everyone has come together," added Gareth. "It's been a real 'blitz spirit' moment that I'll never forget."
To allow Henry House to begin filming again from scratch, Gareth, Luke and the team have been crowdfunding with a target of £30,000. So far around £13,000 has been raised.
On Saturday (July 1) a variety event entitled Henry House Bounce Back will be held at Tŷ Pawb, Market
St, Wrexham, in the hope of filling the coffers further.
"Órla is headlining," said Gareth. "Luke is doing some sketch comedy, we've got another singer, we've got a disability dance group, we've got a signing choir, and we've got the City of Wrexham Brass Band. There's a lot going on that night – there's also an auction and a raffle. Our second crowdfunding campaign is also going to launch on the same day."
Should the funding be found for Henry House to be re-shot, filming will once again take place at Derwen College, starting in September.
"We recently got a national award for our work with Derwen College," said Gareth. "We won Most Innovative Partnership in the Country at the Natspec Innovation Awards. What's important about this and what makes Henry House unique is our partnership with Derwen College, which is a phenomenal place, and our production is facilitating opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to get experience on a professional TV set alongside famous actors throughout the whole process. Former Derwen students have earned themselves main cast positions, and now they're in scenes with Peter and Annette."
Hopeful that Henry House's future can be saved, Gareth feels that the story his team are looking to tell is an important one, and is grateful of any support that the public can give.
"The care industry – people care about it more because of what it was put through during the pandemic," he said. "There is a lot more sympathy for the subject matter. While our script isn't the primary talking point at the moment, a lot of people have said that this is a story that needs to be told, because no-one else is telling it. There isn't a TV show of this kind – there isn't a Waterloo Road set in a care home, which is what this is. That is why this should appeal to the BBC or Netflix – it is a story and setting that a lot of people will relate to."
