'Scope for a lot more' movies and TV shows filming in Northumberland, according to location scout

Aaron Blackmore, from Eglingham near Alnwick, has worked on fashion photo shoots, commercials, TV shows, and movies during his career, and believes the film industry in the North East is set for a period of growth.

He has worked with brands like Vogue and Jo Malone and on programmes like Netflix hit One Day, as well as productions filmed in Northumberland such as Transformers: The Last Knight and Alibi crime drama The Red King, which aired this week.

The 32-year-old said: “I scout all over the country but I have recently made a point of not wanting to travel so much for work.

“With North East Screen doing such a good job at getting productions up into the North East, it has worked out well and I have been able to stay more local to home, which is great.”

North East Screen is the first port of call for companies wanting to film in the region, but Aaron thinks it is up to location managers like him to “prove what they are saying is correct” and show off the region’s best places.

With planning permission recently granted for one of Europe’s largest film making complexes in Sunderland, there could soon be even more productions basing themselves in the region and heading to Northumberland to shoot.

Aaron said: “We have got everything. We have got the industrial side of Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle, the amazing cities that we have got, and then you come north and we have got amazing coastline, we have got the amazing countryside.

“I think we have got everything that there is to offer and up until recently we have kind of been missed off the map.

“With The Red King, it was a really good starting point to show different parts of Northumberland that have not been used on the likes of Vera or George Gently.

“It could showcase other areas and what we have got, and what we can provide for other productions.”

He added: “They have done quite a lot up here but I think there is a lot of scope for a lot more to happen. There is so much of Northumberland that has not been used.”

Aaron describes location managers like him as the “middlemen” between productions and the general public, and praised residents of Craster, Embleton, and Cambo for being “extremely patient” with The Red King crew.

He said: “All I can say is positive things about the communities of Northumberland and the North East. Because they have not had much filming it is still quite exciting for them.

Aaron, citing The Red King as an example, added that film productions can bring economic benefits to the places they visit, in addition to the excitement of celebrity spotting.

He said: “The fees that we are paying go to good use. Embleton Village Hall, sadly, their boiler went down two days after we scouted it.

“The fee that we paid towards [filming] was able to pay for a new boiler system, which was great.

“It shows the money does not just go to rich landowners. It can help communities in Northumberland.”