PersonaliTEES
Tees Valley celebrities on what makes the region special
You may be surprised by the famous names who were born , raised or have chosen to live in the Tees region .
From comedy to music , acting to art , sport to TV , there ’ s a whole load of talent to have come from our little corner of the country .
But these celebs have one thing in common – their passion for all things Teesside .
Franc Roddam
PATRICK MONAHAN , comedian Life makes me laugh , it ’ s constantly going on and it keeps on giving , but there ’ s something special about the culture of Teesside , something different . Playing Middlesbrough Town Hall is still really special and I bounce off the crowds . I get heckles from Boro crowds unlike anywhere else and I love it . Oh yeah , I ’ m a Teessider – and proud of it .
MACKENZIE THORPE , artist I ’ m so proud of being from Middlesbrough and I come “ home ” as often as I can . I can look back at my childhood and think how tough it was sometimes , but I still love the people , the banter and the camaraderie . It ’ s a really special place . Pride , passion , honesty , warmth , humanity , integrity and dignity – that ’ s what the people of Teesside are about and that ’ s the palette I work with . All over the world , whenever there is a big building project , the air is thick with Teesside accents . Middlesbrough was the Ironopolis of the world , the capital of steel . We ’ ve built the world here and we can be totally proud of our heritage .
Mackenzie Thorpe
FRANC RODDAM , director , writer and producer – directed Quadrophenia and created MasterChef My experiences working at Smith ’ s Dock shipyard in South Bank gave me the fuel to later create and produce the third series of
Auf Wiedersehen , Pet and the storyline of the Geordie builders who were contracted to rebuild the Transporter Bridge in Arizona . It was wonderful to be given an honorary Doctorate of Arts by Teesside University and I was very taken by the place , the talent and the activity . I ’ ve now partnered with the university to support students aiming to study film and television production with a scholarship fund . It ’ s a small gesture for an amazing region .”
PETE FIRMAN , magician and comedian Teesside holds so many positive memories for me . A happy childhood and school life plus work and job opportunities that I now realise have shaped the direction my career has taken . Teesside has a great sense of
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