'Fool Me Once' producer shares insight into working on hit Netflix series

• Tim Scott went to meet Jessica Taylor, who worked as a producer on the hit Netflix series 'Fool Me Once', starring Michelle Keegan. Words by Becky Lancashire.

The producer behind a new Netflix series that's hooked viewers into "binge-watching until two in the morning" has described what it was like to be involved in such a big show - filmed in her home patch.

Jessica Taylor, of Quay Street Productions in Manchester, worked on Harlan Coben's 'Fool Me Once', which has been viewed millions of times and topped the charts in more than 90 countries since its release on 1 January.

It follows Maya Stern, played by Michelle Keegan, who's coming to terms with the brutal murder of her husband, Joe (Richard Armitage). But when she installs a nanny-cam to keep an eye on her young daughter, she's shocked to see her husband in the house.

Jessica, who had previously worked on shows like 'The Last Tango in Halifax' and 'Happy Valley', told ITV News she knew this one would be a success thanks to its "fantastic executive producers" and all-star cast.

"Michelle Keegan as the lead is dynamite," she said. "People want to tune into Michelle, they relate to Michelle - people see her as the girl next door."

She continued: "Adeel Akhtar, who plays our detective, is a fantastic actor - BAFTA winning.

"Of course then we've got Joanna Lumley, a national treasure, and Richard Armitage as well who's been part of the Harlan family - he's been in two of the others that they've done."

The official trailer for Fool Me Once on Netflix

Other books of Coben's, such as 'The Stranger' and 'Stay Close', have also been made reimagined as TV series.

"This is the fifth one they've done now so I think they're so tuned into how to adapt them, what works, what the audience likes and how to get that hook at the end of each episode," Jessica added.

Despite the book for 'Fool Me Once' being set in New Jersey, the North West of England provided a backdrop from the TV version, with parts of Manchester, Oldham and Cheshire all able to be spotted across the episodes.

"Manchester is a great place to film, there's some fantastic filming locations. It really lends itself to being in the UK.

"The original novel is set in a fictional town called Winhurst, so we've kind of created that. It's meant to be generic, it's not meant to be Manchester as such.

"As it's quite an aspirational piece we wanted it to look beautiful, high-end, luxury houses, so what we've done is found the best points of the North West, of which there are loads."

For Arley Hall, it wasn't its first time in the spotlight, as the country house was also used as Tommy Shelby's manor home in Peaky Blinders.

Jessica says she hopes putting it on the big screen will help attract lots of visitors to the area.

Having had more than 25 years of experience as a make-up designer in the industry, Jessica was encouraged to get into producing by writer Sally Wainwright and actress Sarah Lancashire, who gave her a chance to work on Happy Valley with them.

Following her own rise through the ranks, she's shared her top tips for those wanting to pursue a career in the industry:

• Always do your research

• Prepare as much as you can

• Make sure you've got a good knowledge of the team making the programme you want to work on

• Get lots of strings to your bow - do as much training and as many courses as you can

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