Wigan couple's TV series Heavy Pencil is praised by fans around the world

Heavy Pencil, which is now being broadcast on Amazon Prime, was created by Andy Conway and Rhiannah Rose, who live in Hawkley Hall.

Described as a cross between a reality TV show and a documentary, it follows the pair and five others as they forge careers in the industry.

Much of the five-part series was filmed in Wigan and across Greater Manchester, but it is already catching attention further afield, both around the UK and in the USA.

Andy said: “We are overwhelmed with the feedback. It’s currently rated 4.9 out of five stars on Amazon and it’s crazy to see people we have not had any affiliation with, and people in America, watching it and enjoying it. The reception has been amazing.”

The idea for the show came to Rhiannah, who works as a model, actor and barber, as she was driving from her home town in Essex to Hawkley Hall to spend the weekend with Andy, before they moved in together.

Andy said: “What she really wanted to do was tell a story about what it’s like working in that career spectrum and how challenging it really is. It’s really rewarding and we have all, collectively as a team, experienced the highs and lows.

“She had this idea of this show that would be almost a hybrid of a documentary and a reality TV show. It’s like Ricky Gervais’ Extras meets Real Housewives of Cheshire.”

Rhiannah pitched the idea to Andy, who runs clothing label Incarnate and works full-time as a manager for a computer firm, and over the weekend they wrote the whole series.

They started to consider people they knew and asked them to get involved, putting together a team of seven to star in the show, including Damian Webb, from Abram, who is a finance underwriter and part-time model.

Having not worked in television before, they relied on the people they knew and watched videos online to help them make the show.

Filming took place across Wigan - at the couple’s home and Damian’s home, on the streets of Hawkley Hall and in Wigan town centre - with other locations including Manchester city centre.

One episode sees them filming a music video at The Old Courts for band King Kartel, with viewers getting a look at what goes on behind the scenes.

Andy said: “It was almost like having two productions at the same time, because we were filming both the music video and the show.”

Another episode was filmed in a dance studio in Manchester and shows male models learning to dance in heels.

The series covers different parts of the industry and includes Andy’s fashion label, stylists and local musicians trying to make a name for themselves.

The first four episodes are now available on Amazon Prime and thousands of people have seen them around the world.

It has been so popular that work has already started on a second series of the show.

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