Lonesome Pine lands commission as BBC backs four other indies from the region in digital scheme

Newcastle-upon-Tyne indie Lonesome Pine has been handed a major BBC1 daytime crime drama.

The BBC has also selected four North East indies who took part in its £600,000 Digital Accelerator to produce digital-first content for younger audiences on platforms including YouTube and TikTok (see below).

The Northumbria Mysteries will star Robson Green as jack-of-all-trades Joe who joins forces with Oxford-educated female DI Rose to make up an unlikely oddball detective duo, solving crimes across the North East. Casting is yet to be announced for Green’s counterpart.

The 8 x 45-minute series is in pre-production and filming will begin in Northumberland this spring.

It was ordered by commissioning editor for daytime and early peak Helen Munson. Aschlin Ditta, Gordon Anderson and Chris Gascoyne will serve as exec producers for Lonesome Pine, and the series will be directed by Gordon Anderson and Duncan Foster. Lonesome Pines co-founder Lesley Douglas produces.

Douglas said: “We could not be happier to have Robson Green lead the cast and bring Joe Ruby to life, within the magnificent backdrop of Northumberland. Working with the BBC to realise these characters has been a labour of love”.

Digital Accelerator

Adventure Alliance Films (County Durham), Film Nova (Gateshead), Northern Child (Newcastle Upon Tyne) and Wander Films (Middlesbrough) are the indies to have won out of a shortlist of 12 indies selected last month for the right to produce digital-first content.

They will receive ongoing support from BBC and North East Screen teams, including mentorship, editorial and business guidance, to help them deliver digital content. Details of this content will be revealed later this year, funded by the BBC’s expanded MOU with the North East region.

Adventure Alliance Films has previously produced unscripted series Danger Play, produced in partnership with Quintus Studios for the Quintus Channel Network and Vice TV, which explores dangerous jobs. Film Nova, founded by Olympian Brendan Foster, is behind production for The Boat Race for Channel 4 and UK’s Strongest Man for 5.

Middlechild Productions sibling label Northern Child has made titles such as legal ob doc Northern Justice for BBC1 Daytime, while Wander Films is behind BBC1 free solo doc The Lakes: Our Life on the Edge.

First announced at the 2025 Edinburgh TV Festival, the scheme is designed to engage 16-24-year-old audiences on digital platforms and fast-track the growth of digital-first content companies in the North East.