Fiona Francombe, site director of Bristol’s successful Bottle Yard Studios, has joined the board of The Production Guild of Great Britain, the UK’s most prestigious membership organisation for film and TV production management professionals.
Based at Pinewood Studios, The Production Guild represents and supports those working in a wide range of professions in the industry, ranging from accounts, production and assistant directing to location management, post production and visual effects.
Its 900 members are the most experienced and well-respected professionals working in film and TV drama production today. 
As a board member, Fiona, pictured, will play a key role in the Guild’s growth and work, helping to ensure the UK maintains its leading edge as the destination of choice for feature film and television production.
She will use her understanding of the industry in Bristol and the South West to seek to help The Production Guild provide effective support to its members based outside of London.
Fiona previously worked for Creative England and South West Film and spent more than 14 years as a location manager and freelance line producer in Bristol, Bath and the West Country, with credits including Casualty, I Saw You, Bertie & Elizabeth, Teachers, Persuasion and Lark Rise to Candleford.
Shehas managed The Bristol City Council-backed Bottle Yard since it opened in 2010 in a former wine warehouse and bottling plant in Hengrove with the aim of boosting levels of film and TV production in the city.
It has since developed into an established UK studio space accommodating high-calibre TV and film titles from both the UK and overseas, including BBC dramas Poldark, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, Wolf Hall and Disney/ABC Studios’ Galavant.
Chair of The Production Guild, Guy Barker, said: “Fiona’s knowledge and experience of working in TV drama production in location management and line production and, more recently, of founding and running a fast-growing successful studio in Bristol, gives her excellent understanding of our members’ needs, especially those working in the regions. She will be a huge asset and her skills will greatly complement those of the rest of the board.”
Fionasaid, asa member of The Production Guild for more than 16 years, she felt honoured to have joined its board.
“The excellent work it undertakes to guide, inform and train those working in production cannot be underestimated,” she said.
“As levels of production continue to go from strength to strength outside London, particularly for high-end TV drama, I look forward to lending my voice from a regional standpoint to help The Production Guild shape its priorities to ensure it meets the needs of members working all around the UK.”
The Production Guild encourages professionalism in UK production by providing information, advice, events and training to members. It informs, advises and guides members on legal, financial, fiscal, and commercial developments within the US, UK and European production environments. It also campaigns on issues that impact the competitiveness of the UK film and TV industry globally and contribute to film policy, working closely with film and TV bodies including BAFTA, British Film Commission, Creative Skillset, Film London, BBC, ITV and Creative England.
