What do a police sergeant, a pair of widows and the first modern lesbian have in common?
It may surprise you to learn that they are all characters from television dramas set in West Yorkshire, namely Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax and Gentleman Jack. Behind these highly acclaimed shows are writer Sally Wainwright, her affiliate crew and cast, and the independent production company Lookout Point.
Last week, I met Will Johnston, one of the joint CEOs and former head of development at Lookout Point. As an executive producer on Gentleman Jack and Happy Valley, who has spent a great deal of time in West Yorkshire, I was keen to get Johnston’s take on what made this corner of the UK such an interesting place to film. But first, I wanted to ask about his role at Lookout Point.
Fostering relationships with creative people
Johnston joined Lookout Point in 2016 as an executive producer, which he described as being about “fostering relationships with creative people, primarily writers, and then exercising some leadership over the scripts, the programmes and the ideas, and working with really talented people to move them along.”
Since taking over from Faith Penhale in November 2022, Johnston does not feel as though his role has changed too much. He told me that “the work I do at the moment is really a continuation of what I was doing for quite a long time as executive producer. You take on a bit more strategic oversight of the business, but the fundamentals are the same. It’s about reading scripts, sifting for talent, building relations and it goes from there.”
Johnston shares the role of CEO with his long-time colleague Laura Lankester. Fortunately, according to Will, the pair share “a sense of what we think makes a good script, which is a very subjective thing”.
So, what do the pair look for when deciding to move forwards with a new script?
It all adds up to the big adventure
For Johnston at least, “it all adds up to the big adventure and I do like our productions to take us on those journeys, […] my taste is for projects that I think are going to push me somewhere new, bring together a really exciting and top-class group of collaborators and see if we can make something fantastic.”
One of the Lookout Point productions that captures this sense of adventure is Happy Valley, the BAFTA-winning police drama set in the Calder Valley, which was produced by Lookout Point from series two onwards. Johnston believes that the show “proves as well as anything ever could what a big adventure an audience and a group of characters can go on”.
Happy Valley, which follows Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) as she balances her day job with battling the Machiavellian Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), is certainly full of adventure. But, at the same time, Happy Valley depicts quite a normal world. Between scenes of Catherine fighting for her life are moments in which Catherine might share a coffee with her sister Clare (Siobhan Finneran).
But what else is important when developing a show, and why does West Yorkshire tick so many boxes?
A truthful world
According to Johnston, representing a ‘truthful world’ goes hand in hand with conveying a sense of adventure, as is the case with Happy Valley, “it’s a story about people who just get on with it, keep going and have big, big lives”.
The roots of Johnston’s philosophy go back to his first role in TV as a script editor on the BBC’s adaptation of War and Peace (2016). For Johnston, this show represented “the beginning of quite a long phase of British TV, that we’re still in, of ambitious programming, that told epic stories even when they are emotionally intimate as well.”
The West Yorkshire setting appears to be the perfect backdrop for adventure and the everyday to come together. As Johnston reflected, “it looks every bit as epic as anywhere else we’ve ever shot. It is completely glorious. The themes are as big as Greek tragedy and there’s something very bonding about shooting something in the driving rain and snow of January and February.”
What are the challenges?
Of course, telling stories that are specific to one community’s experience is not always easy. Johnston described how when Happy Valley first aired, “I’m sure it was scary for people on the commissioning side because it was so specific to a local experience, and whether it would speak to a wider audience would have been a big question.”
Telling stories from other under-represented communities is another challenge. Johnston noted the initial uncertainty around ‘A Suitable Boy’, the first BBC-commissioned show to air on a prime-time slot with an all-Indian cast, and Gentleman Jack, another staple in Lookout Point’s portfolio, which recounts the story of the ‘first modern lesbian’, Anne Lister (Suranne Jones).
Gentleman Jack faithfully follows Anne’s decrypted diary to tell the story of her later life when she returns to Halifax in 1832 and marries Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle). Although sadly not renewed by HBO for a third series, Gentleman Jack has amassed an international fandom, who according to Johnston, “even flew a plane over Shipton Moor” to call for its return.
Authenticity in storytelling
But what explains the global appeal of shows with such a local experience at their heart?
In addition to compelling writing and direction, for Johnston it’s about having a high level of “detail and authenticity in storytelling, especially where it involves representation of regions, ethnicity and LGBTQ+”. “In the time that I’ve been working in television”, Johnston reflected, “a lot of progress has been made in attitudes towards authenticity, which makes it easier to cast the right people, in the right roles and have the right people tell the right stories.”
Beyond Halifax and Hebden Bridge
In some ways, Lookout Point has played a part in the BBC’s ‘Across the UK’ strategy. Officially launched in March 2021, this six-year-plan aims to shift the creative and journalistic centre away from London. By working closely with the BBC to produce programmes set in West Yorkshire, Lookout Point has supported the BBC’s aim to develop programmes which reflect the lives of audiences across the country.
Although owned by BBC Studios, the commercial wing of the BBC group, the day-to-day operation of the company remains very much independent. Alongside working with the BBC, Lookout Point makes programmes with other industry heavyweights, such as HBO, AMC and, most recently, Disney.
But for Johnston, shows like Happy Valley and Gentleman Jack, “represent a kind of strategy of how you can invest in programmes that might seem unlikely, from brilliant people like Sally Wainwright and her affiliate crew and actors, and do something that speaks loudly beyond Halifax and Hebden Bridge, that connects people into storytelling that is super-regional and specific for a reason.”
What’s next for Lookout Point?
Although taking a break from West Yorkshire, Lookout Point continues to keep adventure at the heart of its programming. Its new show, Renegade Nell, takes place in war-torn 18th century Europe and, Johnston imagines, “it will the first drama about an 18th century highway woman with superpowers.”
This time collaborating with Disney, Renegade Nell will be a little different from Lookout Point’s previous programmes. Johnston told me that, as always, it has the “beautiful, propulsive writing from Sally Wainwright, but it is very much out on its own limb. More than anything we’ve made before; it’s trying to speak to a global audience.”
As for the possible return of Gentleman Jack for Series three, Johnston was optimistic when I asked him. He said, “I would never say never with Gentleman Jack. There’s something about the story and the people involved. I have faith in them to come together to get it there.”
Finally, I asked Johnston if he could share any details about the release of other Lookout Point productions, Am I Being Unreasonable and The Power of Parker. He was happy to share that “they’ll be on their way soon”.
The entire first series of Renegade Nell will be available to stream on Friday 29th March on Disney+.
