Jessica Fay (17) worked with Rope Ladder Fiction, a Manchester based production company focusing on social inclusion and innovation, whose first commission was the hit BBC TV drama ‘Waterloo Road.’ Jessica’s her first story, entitled ‘A Journey Into the Unknown’, appears in the book ‘The Killing of Demons and Darlings’ which had a red carpet launch in Manchester. The team at Rope Ladder invited Jessica to take part in the project in August last year after she first met them at the premier of ‘Ralph and Katie,’ a spin-off of ‘The A Word’ about two newlyweds who both have the condition Downs Syndrome.
Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to Burnley Express, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. Jessica started working with the team in August last year and the project was lead by award winning playwright, poet and screenwriter Cathy Crabb. She is also working as part of a team on another project with Brazen Productions, a disabled led regionally independent TV production company based in the UK.
She is also being mentored by BAFTA award winning producer Jules Hussy who cut her industry teeth working on the iconic American hit TV show ‘Baywatch.’ Jessica’s proud mum, Laura said: “Jessy still very much wants to be in front of the camera and she has a strong team behind her both in the UK and America. But for now she is working on her A’levels at Burnley College but still dreaming big.
” Jessica plans to keep writing and has completed a script for a 13 part TV series Cross Over, a supernatural teen drama which she is working hard to sell. Another of Jessica's stories was turned into a film script after she started her own production company Sparkle and Shine Productions. With the help of other film makers, friends and family, Jessica, who lives with her mum and brothers, Kyle, Taylor, Denver and Jayden, brought to life her first short film The Making Of Alex (2020).
Taylor is following in his sister’s footsteps playing the brother of celebrity Alan Carr in a sitcom based on the childhood of the popular comedian. ‘Changing Ends’ is made by the multi-award winning Baby Cow Productions and currently running on ITVX. Jessica won critical acclaim for her portrayal of a bullied schoolgirl in a film entitled ‘Jessica.
’ when she was just 11 at the time of filming. Due to her autism Jessica is member of the disabled artists creative network (Danc Manc) Her first taste of the limelight was at the age of two when she booked her first modelling job. She continued to book regular jobs, in modelling and TV ads, for the next six years before branching out into acting roles.
In 2018 she played young Sophie in Sky Cinemas Book of Monster from Dark Rift Films. And talented Jessica already has a raft of awards to her name, including the Queen Palm International Film Festival Annual Award for best young filmmaker of year for The Making of Alex. She is now the youngest award winning film maker in the UK and possibly the youngest disabled female film maker in the world.
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