Top of the props

Crafting everything from willow baskets and pots to intricate military regalia for Stage and screen, Britain’s artisans are playing their supporting role to perfection

- AMANDA MORISON

DEPENDING on where you get your stats, the UK film, television and video production spend in 2022 was anywhere from £4.77bn to £6.27bn. Rishi Sunak might want to send some of the statisticians to maths boot camp but even taking a billion or three in either direction he must be pretty happy about this creative bump to the nation's balance sheet. The creation of these works is a hi-tech business, and Britain regularly dominates the Academy Awards in visual effects. But playing a significant supporting role is some of the nation's most creative talent: the artisans crafting breathtaking works using traditional techniques. From basket weaving to the finest gold embroidery, Britain has centuries of history to draw on and our skills are celebrated on stage and by Hollywood and the Netflix generation.

Nigel Legge is a fisherman, artist and maker of 'withies': willow lobster pots. Born into a family of fishermen, Legge has lived in the Lizard on the southern tip of Cornwall all his life, apart from a period after he left school at 15 and joined the Merchant Navy. On his return, he put his £1,000 savings into buying his father's fishing boat. "Maybe I should have bought my grandmother's thatched cottage; it would be worth a fortune now," he says with a wry smile.