Soap star surprise for Shropshire TV writer - will she be next to join cast of locally-made show?
The writer of a locally-made TV pilot has found himself acquainted with a major soap star in the most surreal of circumstances.
Gareth Thomas, creator of Shropshire-filmed care home drama Henry House, spotted a property that piqued his curiosity while location scouting. Little did he know, however, that a famous TV star would be sitting inside.
Paula Lane, who rose to fame on ITV’s Coronation Street and only recently left our screens in Emmerdale, was visiting family in the local area when Gareth was drawn to the cottage she was staying in.
“We were scouting for a property for our main character’s family home,” said Gareth. “Her name’s Izzy Orchard and this was ‘Orchard Cottage’. So I just thought, perfect!”
But Gareth had absolutely no idea that that decision to knock on the door was about to lead him to national soap star Paula.
“It was just the most bizarre thing,” he said. “And even from her point of view, she said herself how serendipitous it was.”
The pilot episode for Henry House has been filmed and features a variety of big names including Ian McNeice (Doc Martin), Annette Badland (Bergerac) and Liam Fox (Emmerdale).
Paula reportedly took the time to talk to Gareth about Henry House and his plans to bring in more household names to further bolster the show as he and his team prepare to pitch it to networks.
She also took to social media to share the chance encounter from her own point of view, posting: “This was nuts today! What a lovely introduction though @rockinghorsemedia. Talk about serendipity.”
Could Paula Lane be the next big name to join the Henry House line-up? Watch this space…
