Prime Minister Rishi Sunak paid a visit to the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in Beaconsfield this week to promote the work of the UK’s film and TV industry.

A £77 million funding boost for the creative industries was announced by the Government last June as part of their plan to grow the sector by £50 billion and create one million extra jobs by 2030.

At that time, the Prime Minister called the creative industries “a true British success story.”

As part of his visit the PM took a turn behind a camera and tried his hand at carpentry. He was shown a scaled-down replica of a set from the movie Alien, built by students on a model-making course. 

Mr Sunak spoke to broadcasters during his visit say that the film and TV sector is one of the UK’s “powerhouse industries” and should be “celebrated and supported”.

He said: “We have Europe’s largest film and TV sector and it contributes billions to our economy, employs millions of people.”

Pretty much every film that anyone saw last year will have had alumni from this institution working on it and that is something that should be supported by the government as it is because ultimately it helps us grow our economy.

And that’s something that’s really important to the country and we’re training the next generation of talent right here and they’re doing incredible things.”

Jon Wardle, NFTS director, said it was a pleasure to welcome the Prime Minister to the school.

Mr Wardle said: “His enthusiasm and passion for the creative industries added an extra layer of excitement as he saw first-hand the outstanding work crafted by our talented students across a variety of productions.

The visit also provided an opportunity to highlight the incredible impact NFTS graduates continue to make on the global stage.”