Hollyoaks star Terri Dwyer made a "ballsy" career move after the pandemic sparked a "frightening" time for the entertainment industry
Terri, best known for playing Ruth Osborne in the popular Channel 4 soap, is getting used to life on the other side of the camera after setting up independent TV and film production company, Buffalo Dragon, in 2020.
Over the past 30 years, Terri has carved out an impressive career on the big and small screen, fronting shows such as Loose Women and 60 Minute Makeover. But a conversation with former on-screen husband, Jeremy Edwards, prompted her to give producing a try.
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She said: “It actually all started with Jeremy. Years ago he asked me to read a script and critique it and I actually quite enjoyed it.
"And then I suppose I got to a certain age and the kind of roles you want to be doing either weren’t available or weren’t available to me. I was either standing backstage or seeing the final cut of something and thinking, ‘you know what, this could be so much better if they did this, this and this’ and I just didn’t want to be one of those actors who always moaned about things.
"I’m very lucky as an actor to be doing something I really love so I thought, you know what, I’m going to find a script and see how it goes.”
Terri was initially reluctant to turn her penchant for producing into a fully-fledged company, but the pandemic's devastating impact on the arts inspired her to make the leap.
She told the ECHO : “I was organically finding and honing projects and my business partner, Greg Barrow, asked me why I was taking them to other companies rather than doing it myself. I was like ‘I’m a creative, I don’t want to run a company’.
"Then lockdown happened and the theatres and cinemas closed and it was a really frightening time for anybody in our industry. I remember being stood by a window in my kitchen and Greg asked why I wouldn’t go into business with him and I thought ‘its now or never’. So I decided to do it and I’ve not looked back since.”
Since setting up Buffalo Dragon, Terri has produced two feature films, the first of which is set to premiere in the US later this month. 'The Stranger In Our Bed', starring Emily Berrington and Samantha Bond, is a psychological thriller based on a USA Today best-selling book and has already received positive reviews ahead of its UK release on September 5.
Terri's second feature film, Bolan's Shoes, stars legendary actor Timothy Spall, and was shot in several locations across Liverpool and Wales. Terri, who lives in Wirral with her husband and two sons, is making a concerted effort to film many of her productions in the North West in a bid to showcase the region's extensive creative talent and beautiful scenery.
She said: “I love the North West. After my first audition for Hollyoaks, I didn’t go back home to London for about four months. I literally went to Topshop, bought all my clothes and underwear, and the next time I left Liverpool was to pack up my house and move back up here and I’ve not really left.
"I love the people and I love the place. I love the Wirral and the fact I can run to the beach or be in Royden Park. Its a beautiful place to live and a beautiful place to bring up children. My boys are really lucky to surrounded by the wonder that is the Wirral. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.”
She added: “I feel that Liverpool is my home and its been a really kind, supportive home to me and I really want to build a company where I can be kind and supportive to my community.
"Something I’m very passionate about is finding a synergy between socially and economically challenged areas in Liverpool and giving those children an opportunity. I want to be able to expose kids that haven’t had the opportunity to be exposed to an industry that gives them self-expression, because I was that underdog who never went to drama school and didn’t have arty parents."
While Terri has turned her attention to producing, she hasn't surrendered her acting career, and makes appearances on-screen in both 'The Stranger in our Bed' and 'Bolan's Shoes'.
She said: “ I do still do self tapes for my agent but I’m much more selective now and its got to work with Buffalo because the company is too small for me to just disappear.
"I’m not closed off to anything but I’m really excited about where Buffalo is and where the future is going. I would only take something in terms of acting if everyone internally thought it was the right thing. It’s no longer just my decision.”
'The Stranger in our Bed' will be released in the UK on September 5.
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