Meet our new Staffordshire Film Office Manager

We’re delighted to introduce you to a new member of the We Are Staffordshire team, our new Film Office Manager, Jonny Shelton.

Jonny joins us to launch a new Staffordshire Film Office, to help raise our county’s profile on the national and international stage and play a part in our growing economy.

Tell us about yourself

I come into the role after working in Film and TV for six years, mostly for Creative England’s Filming in England Team where I worked really closely with We Are Staffordshire, Staffordshire County Council (and many other local authorities) and Location Managers.  Most recently, I worked for The Production Guild of Great Britain.

I have found locations in the real world (the school for the Waterloo Road reboot; stables for The Crown) and outer space (quarries for Star Wars). I’ve scouted over 600 places, contributed to local and national legislation change, created opportunities for new crew to get their first credits in their careers – and, somehow, ended up in Sky Comedy ‘Brassic’ and Amazon’s Rom Com ‘How to Date Billy Walsh’ (in the latter as ‘Restaurant Goer #3’).

I have loved every second of it. Outside of work, I am an avid racket sports player, and volunteer as a tennis coach at weekends.

What excites you about the role of Staffordshire Film Office Manager?

When Louisa and her team approached my previous employer in 2023 to learn more about opening a Film Office, I was hugely impressed by their vision; I have worked with every council in the Midlands and North West regions; a very, very small number of them have a Film Office within the authority. Many had ambitions to do so, but We Are Staffordshire were the only ones who actually saw it through to fruition – and reaching that end point was a clear goal from our very first interaction.

As with all of the other work undertaken by We Are Staffordshire to date, they have put their money where their mouth is with this project, for the good of the local populous and the county as a whole – which mirrors my own ambitions. I am motivated by a desire to serve the public, and I love storytelling. This role is the perfect combination of both of these elements; the work of a film office helps create worlds that members of the public can suspend their disbelief within – but there are so many more benefits the sector can bring to society, and I can’t wait to begin bringing these to life.

Staffordshire is uniquely positioned around ongoing developments in the sector too, which will further enable success, and I couldn’t be more pleased to be a part of it

What are the first things I’ll be looking to do?

Getting to know all of my new colleagues – in the County Council, and across each of the nine districts and boroughs within our borders!

And, starting the work to bring both the UK’s and the world’s biggest productions to Staffordshire, so we can show them how they can bring their scripts to life here.