Daniel Morris reports on how the TV show Henry House has overcome a catalogue of bad luck and with fantastic support is now ready to hit the screen
It’s fair to say that the story of Henry House has had its fair share of ups and downs.
A TV pilot being independently produced in Shropshire by Rocking Horse Media, the project has put ex-Blue Peter presenter Peter Purves alongside newcomer Órla Jones to tell the tale of a family-run care home and the unlikely friendship formed between a young receptionist and a new resident with dementia.
With a raft of other established stars (including Annette Badland, Ian McNeice and Emmerdale’s Liam Fox) and burgeoning talent completing the cast, Henry House has captivated the interest of both the industry and the general public. Yet, as we have previously reported, its production has been something of a drama of its own.
When we last met director Gareth Thomas and the rest of the Rocking Horse team, Henry House had been hit with the calamity of Purves breaking his wrist while off-set.
This meant that production had to be halted – possibly for good.
Fitted with an undisguisable cast, 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 that as production was close to completion, the budget had almost been fully spent. However, the team were undeterred.
Thanks to all actors and crew agreeing to re-film along with a string of successful fundraising events and investment from American supporters, Henry House was saved.
Yet, since we last caught up with Gareth and co., drama had renewed afresh.
“Things had been going really well,” said Gareth.
“We had held our BouncedBack concert to celebrate the pilot being saved, and our investors actually came over from America for it.
“They then got to see us filming the next day and got to be in the thick of that.
“We had people coming up to us on the streets saying ‘can I be in it?’
“They knew what it was at that point because of all the fundraising we’d done and the events we’d held. Getting that kind of attention showed us the love that was now there for the project. It was a proud time for us.”
But then, disaster.
“We had our primary location all sewn up, we’d been working hard at this location for years,” said Gareth.
“But unfortunately, in the end, we were unable to use it as our exterior location.”
Whilst filming the interior shots at said site wasn’t going to be an issue, without being able to also secure it as the all-important exterior location, production was once again in jeopardy.
“The location loss, after everything, could have been the brick wall that we couldn’t get through. This could genuinely have been the final end for Henry House.”
Soon, however, hope came forth for the team.
“Our location manager, Abi Baker did an incredible job in finding Iscoyd Park – a beautiful Georgian manor house and wedding venue not far from Whitchurch. We went in to meet with Anne Powell, the day-to-day manager. We walked into this place and it was like The Prince and the Pauper – it was so posh! I felt like my only reason to be there would be to sweep the chimney!”
“It wasn’t a new thing for Iscoyd to have film crews there,” added production manager Luke Allen, “but they bought into the story and what Henry House was.
“We gave them a pitch, they loved the sound of what we were doing, and we were able to come to an agreement.
“Our investors very kindly agreed, under the circumstances, to give the extra to the project.”
With a new primary location secured, Henry House was back on track.
“In fact, it was even about to pick up a new star-in-the-making.
“Iscoyd Park is owned by the Godsal family, and their daughter, Poppy, had come out to watch us on day one of filming there,” said Gareth.
“I remember chatting with her and her granddad, who was with her,” added Luke.
“When they’ve had other TV shows there, despite the fact that it’s her house they’re filming in, they haven’t necessarily let her come and watch.
“She was talking about how she wants to go into acting.
“I remember asking her to email us so we could look at some opportunities for her. About a week or two later she did.”
“Órla, our lead star, isn’t that much older than Poppy,” said Gareth, “and she was proof to Poppy that she could do it. Órla was relatable to her and I think Poppy was inspired by her more than anyone else on set.
“We ended up putting her in Henry House and now in the opening scene of the pilot you’ll see Poppy before you’ll even see Órla.”
As Gareth and Luke relate, the Godsal family proved to be generous to a fault, determined to help the project succeed.
“When the budget was again getting tight, they ended up giving over half of what we’d paid them back,” said Gareth.
“They wanted Henry House to survive as much as anyone and they did what they felt they needed to do to help us get over the line.”
Finally, after three years, and more of a rollercoaster than even the boldest TV writers could conceive, filming of the pilot for Henry House has wrapped.
Since then, the project has been officially endorsed by national care provider, Radfield Home Care.
Gareth said: “Radfield Home Care have been supporting Henry House since the very beginning as consultants.
“We had them on the set so they were already a big part of what we’ve achieved.
“But to have the public and full endorsement of a national care provider, which is what Radfield Home Care very much is, for a show set in the care industry is frankly unheard of.
“The legitimacy this automatically instils in what we have created could honestly be the difference between getting picked up and not – that’s how important this is and we are forever grateful to them.”
A spokesperson for Radfield said: “Working with Rocking Horse Media on Henry House has been an incredible journey, it has shed light on the vital, compassionate work care professionals perform every day. It’s a privilege to be part of a project that honours the humanity at the heart of care.”
With Gareth, Luke and the team determined to get Henry House picked up for series, we could all be seeing the fruit of that incredible journey very soon.
