North East Screen hosts exclusive screening in Tees Valley for new ITV comedy, backed by the North East Production Fund.
27th June 2025
Jordan Gray, creator and star of ITV’s newest comedy series Transaction, will be joined by Sunderland born actor and co-star Thomas Gray, ITV’s Head of Scripted Comedy Nana Hughes, Producer Lara Singer, and director Ollie Parsons for a preview screening of the new series produced by Big Talk Studios.
The Forum Theatre, Billingham will play host to the event which will be attended by production, crew, trainees and local authority representatives ahead of its transmission on 24 June.
Transaction is a six-part comedy from Big Talk Studios, created by and starring comedy performer Jordan Gray. Jordan stars as Liv, a transgender egomaniac, causing havoc in the strange world of the supermarket nightshift. The series was filmed last year at the Northern Studios in Hartlepool and surrounding area and was supported by the North East Production Fund.
The Fund, administered by North East Screen on behalf of the North East Screen Industries Partnership is attracting more productions to film in the region bringing jobs and inward investment.
Gayle Woodruffe, Operations Director at North East Screen said: “We were delighted to support Transaction which is one of 12 productions to shoot in the region with North East Production Fund investment in the last three years. Almost £3 million has been invested so far into scripted and unscripted projects generating just over £21 million in regional spend with an average of 65% regional crew employed.
When productions come into the region they hire regional crew, and actors, use regional supply chain companies and our skills team work closely with them to provide training opportunities for local people. This helps us to build a sustainable industry and regional infrastructure in the North East.”
Big Talk Studios (Ludwig, The Outlaws) used the Northern Studios in Hartlepool as their production base which is about to undergo a major studio expansion as part of a £33.5m masterplan to enhance the existing studios and develop a production village in the surrounding area.
The series will drop as a full series box set on ITVX on Tuesday 24 June and air weekly on ITV2 from Tuesday 24 June.