Member Bio
Strong Film & Television is an exciting and ambitious scripted production company evolved from Strong Films, an indie founded in 2013 by BAFTA award-winning director and producer James Strong.
Previously, Strong Films acted as a vehicle for both James’ highly successful freelance activities and his development of high-end scripted and feature documentary titles. However, formerly any projects such as Code of a Killer were optioned and produced by indies such as World Productions. Recently, with the ambition to take full control of ideas and projects, James has significantly expanded into the television production side of the business, joining forces with award-winning Executive Producer Loretta Preece and television executive Matt Tombs, to establish a discrete production company, Strong Film & Television. The Strong Film & Television team come with clear pedigree and a compelling combination of skills, together with wide-ranging talent and commissioner relationships across the British drama industry, and beyond.
James has not only been instrumental in helping to shape and evolve a number of the foremost returnable British dramas of recent years, including Vigil, Crime, The Suspect, Liar, and Broadchurch, but also has extensive contacts across the finest writing, on-screen and production talent, including Chris Chibnall (Broadchurch, Doctor Who), Russell T Davies (It’s A Sin, Doctor Who), Tom Edge (Vigil, Judy, Strike) and, in the US, Joan Rater & Tony Phelan (Fire Country, Grey’s Anatomy) and Bridget Carpenter (11-22-63, Red Road). Due to her extensive background in continuing drama series, Loretta brings a wealth of writer relationships from both established names such as Jude Tindall (Sister Boniface Mysteries, Shakespeare & Hathaway) and Dana Fainaru (Casualty, Death in Paradise), to more emerging talent including Rachel Harper (Doctors), Kevin Rundle (The Thaw) and Hilary Frankland (Casualty). Across her many years working on some of the BBC’s biggest returning dramas, nurturing new talent has always been an absolute priority for Loretta. Driven by their passion for scripted audiences, James, Matt and Loretta are bringing their experience of working upon a number of UK TV’s most popular and enduring drama series of the last twenty years plus extensive senior level executive management to build a vibrant production business creating a range of contemporary, emotional, and bold pieces that will connect with both British and international audiences.
Strong Film & Television is based in Bristol and London but aims to serve traditional and emerging commissioners both in the UK and abroad.
Key People
Matt Tombs, Managing Director
Matt Tombs is an experienced broadcast executive with more than 20 years’ senior content strategy, channel development and project management experience. After graduating with a degree in Drama & Theatre Studies, he initially worked in television drama production – development, script editing and producing – followed by a move into several senior channel and content management positions for the BBC, UKTV, and Viacom. Most recently Matt worked for the BBC as the Programme Director for a £60m capital investment project to rebuild and expand the EastEnders exterior set. Matt’s breadth and variety of experience has equipped him with an excellent understanding of the relationships between the UK’s commissioning, production and broadcasting functions and he is extremely confident working within complex and challenging environments, using his extensive management skills to shape ideas and strategic direction based upon sophisticated analysis. As Managing Director, Matt brings significant business acumen to the table, delivering a unique combination of both mature strategic capability and exceptional editorial judgement, plus expert stakeholder management, finance management and leadership skills.
Loretta Preece, Joint Creative Director
Loretta Preece is the producer behind some of the UK’s most high-profile and popular continuing drama series, including Casualty, Doctors and The Sister Boniface Mysteries. In addition to recently winning her second BAFTA, a particular high point was in 2021 when, as Series Producer for Casualty, she led the creative team that won an unprecedented hat-trick of award wins in a single year – BAFTA, RTS and Broadcast. Under her stewardship, the landmark BBC medical series received notable acclaim for both its portrayal of disability on screen and a hard-hitting episode looking at how Coronavirus has affected NHS emergency departments. Over the last 20 years, Loretta has been at the forefront of some of the BBC’s most successful dramas having begun her career in theatre, directing over 100 performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Most recently working for BBC Birmingham’s drama unit – a team that specialises in pre-watershed crime with strong international appeal – Loretta was both Series Producer for the second series of hit BritBox Us/ UKTV show The Sister Boniface Mysteries, and a Development Executive across three of her own original ideas. Working her way up from being a freelance Script Reader for leading industry players such as Ecosse Films and PFD, Loretta has progressed through multiple key scripted roles including Script Editor for BBC Wales Drama and Series Editor for Casualty. She has a particularly in-depth relationship with successful BBC1 daytime drama Doctors, which is renowned for its nurturing of up-and coming writing and production talent. Whilst raising her three children, Loretta worked part-time as Doctor’s Story Producer, responsible for writing storylines for 200 episodes per year, winning many accolades from RTS Midlands Awards to the Soap Awards. A champion of emerging talent, Loretta is passionate about giving inexperienced writers exposure in writer’s rooms and the chance of a script commission. A refined instinct for identifying talent, she has nurtured a number of new writers who are now regarded as some of the best in the business. A keen member within the creative community, Loretta is taking part in this year’s prestigious Women in Film & TV mentoring scheme, being mentored by Caroline Hollick, Channel 4’s Head of Drama. She also teaches storytelling and mentors writers as part of Glasgow Caledonian University’s MA in TV Fiction course and runs a story room at the London Screenwriter’s Festival.
James Strong, Joint Creative Director
James Strong is one of the UK’s most in-demand drama directors, both in the UK and the US. He is currently in production for major ITV series Mr Bates vs the Post Office, telling the important story of a scandalous miscarriage of justice in the UK. He has has also recently completed production for feature film Anna, a powerful and inspiring thriller based upon a true story of one ordinary woman’s journey from local print journalist to international human rights hero. Maxine Peake plays the lead role of pioneering Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, in this feature produced by Good Films (Good, The Infiltrator, City of Lies). Last year James directed Fire Country, a US pilot for CBS from Jerry Bruckheimer Television and CBS Studios which was subsequently been picked up to a full and second season. James’ other recent work includes The Suspect, World Productions new thriller for ITV starring Aidan Turner and written by Peter Berry (Gangs of London, Prime Suspect); Buccaneer Media’s Crime, Irvine Welsh’s first ever TV series, an adaptation of his 2008 novel; and, Vigil, World Productions breakout hit thriller for BBC1 which became the UK’s most successful new drama of the last 3 years and for which James won the BAFTA Scotland for Best Director. He also directed Liar (Srs 1 & 2) for ITV, Council of Dads (Pilot & Ep 2) for NBC in the US, Vanity Fair for ITV/ Amazon Studios, and the discovery of DNA fingerprinting series Code of a Killer for ITV, which he also originated through Strong Films. James is perhaps best known for his work on ITV’s Broadchurch, for which he was nominated for Best Director at the BAFTA Craft Awards 2014, the same year the show won 6 BAFTA’s including Best Drama Series. In 2008, he won Best Director at the BAFTA Cymru Awards for the Doctor Who 2007 Christmas Special Voyage of the Damned, which is still the highest rating series episode of all-time. James has worked across some of the most high-profile UK drama series of the last 20 years, including Torchwood, Hustle, Downton Abbey and Law & Order: UK. In addition to feature-length UK films such as United, The Best Possible Taste and The Great Train Robbery, he has also directed several US drama series including Missing, Gracepoint and Bad Robot’s 11.22.63.