Hartlepool TV & Film Firm Collapses after creditors file for its bankruptcy...

The TV & Production Company trading from an address in Hartlepool's Tower Street reportedly owed creditors around £70k as the High Court orders that liquidators now be appointed...

7th August 2025

A Hartlepool-based media company, has collapsed into liquidation, with debts said to be totalling around £73,000.

The Teesside & Durham Post understands Sea & Sky Pictures Ltd is now the subject of a HMRC petition for insolvency, following claims HMRC made repeated attempts to engage with the business to pay its substantial bill before initiating legal proceedings.

Its claimed High Court action was then taken after mounting debts—primarily owed to HMRC—went unresolved, with the liquidation signalling a major blow for the towns film scene, which had positioned itself as a rising force in the region’s media production following the creation of Hartlepool's Production Village..

Sea & Sky Pictures, directed by Adam Bouabda, had reportedly been selected as the North East partner in a BBC’s Comedy Regional Partnership Scheme, working in collaboration with national production heavyweight's Hat Trick Productions. The initiative was aimed at supporting and developing independent production talent outside of London.

As part of that partnership, its claimed the company had reportedly secured two BBC Comedy commissions—a 30-minute script development and a character development project. Two additional concepts were also said to be in preparation for pitching to BBC Comedy.

Despite these high-profile developments, the financial situation behind the scenes appears to have unravelled, with liquidators Nicholas Stratten (IP number 22170) of Greenfield Recovery Limited, Trinity House, 28-30 Blucher Street, Birmingham, B1 1QH now understood to be in the process of identifying available funds from the crippled business to pay back its creditors, however sources claim the prospect of recovering back what's owed is said to be 'slim', leaving the losses shouldered by the Tax Payer.