THE film and television industry was worth £8.5m to the North-East economy last year, according to figures released last night.

The boost for the region is double the amount it was in 2003, buoyed by hit television shows, including 55 Degrees North, Distant Shores and Wire in the Blood.

The statistics from regional screen agency Northern Film and Media (NFM) show companies spent an average of £23,000 every day last year.

NFM calculates this money has created 134 jobs and kept 126 people in work in the region. Other projects included primetime dramas such as Steel River Blues and Lawless, as well as Jamie's Dinners and a £1m advert for Carling lager.

Hollywood film Goal! is also being shot in the North-East.

NFM chief executive Tom Harvey said: "These fantastic figures demonstrate the economic value of moving images and are the payoff for the hard work we put in to bring productions here.

"We strongly believe that location filming has other spinoffs, not just the money spent on hotel rooms and catering trucks.

"As well as our growing locations and crew database, we are running familiarisation trips to the North-East for London-based production staff who are considering coming up here to shoot film and television."

Location-spend figures have risen every year since NFM was created in October 2002. Then they were only £1.5m.

Eighty-six productions were filed in the North-East last year, compared to 71 the year before.

Published: 28/06/2005