Inside the Liverpool prop house helping to create film and TV magic

From the outside, it looks like any other industrial unit in Knowsley, but inside is where the film and TV magic happens.

The 12,000sqft warehouse in Kirkby is stacked from floor to ceiling with everything production companies need to create their sets, from the smallest of ornaments to 1960s sofas and even a horse dray.

Each piece has been sourced by the owners of Liverpool’s first prop house, who’ve already hired out to TV series including This City Is Ours, The Responder and The Cage, as well as DC Studios new Gotham-based movie Clayface.

Action Props was started in December 2023 by four friends who work in the industry, all specialising in props.

Bobby Brown, Jake Hill, Gareth Thompson and Chris Cooksey met 15 years ago when they worked with Lime Pictures, makers of Hollyoaks.

Now all freelancing, they spotted a gap in the market for a local props supplier, especially as Liverpool started to attract more and more productions based in the city.

Bobby, who’s a prop master, explains:

“I was always having to send dressers and vans out to prop houses in Manchester, Leeds, London, here there and everywhere to do pick-ups.

“There are so many productions coming to Liverpool to film because the Film Office makes it easier for them and because of the architecture we’ve got, it just made sense for somebody to start a prop house here.”

The four decided to use their collective knowledge of the business to set up Action Props, first in outbuildings at Gareth’s home and then moving into much larger premises in December 2024.

“Between us we’d accumulated some nice pieces in our own houses, so initially we racked out one of the outbuildings next to Gareth’s farmhouse and put stock there.

“We started renting things to productions here and there to build up some capital, and then a year later we moved to our warehouse in Kirkby.

“Because we’ve all worked in the industry over the years, we know the type of thing set dec teams are looking for so we’re able to lean on their experience as well. 

“There’s been a few times where we’ve been going to an auction to acquire some props and we’ll speak to them beforehand to get an idea of whether certain things are worth us having – is it the type of thing they’d purchase rather than hiring because it’s lower value or easy to obtain? 

“We work on some productions that are period, and some that are more contemporary, so we’re able to ascertain from the buyers and from our own experience of dressing sets exactly what type of things get hired on a regular basis. Based on that we decide what’s worth having and what’s going to just gather dust on a shelf.”

Bobby says hiring items rather than buying them is a much more environmentally responsible option for production companies.

Action Props is an accredited supplier with the industry’s Albert initiative, which encourages sustainability, meaning waste is kept to a minimum.

“Years ago I’d work on productions where at the end you’d only have so much time to wrap the job, maybe a week or two to empty a warehouse, and a lot of decent furniture would end up being thrown away,” says Bobby.

“Now as a company if we have a surplus at the end of a production, or things that aren’t suitable to rent out because they’re low value, we’ll often donate to them charity.

“We’d sooner put them back into the community than have them end up in landfill or a skip. 

“One of the charities we’ve donated to is the Whitechapel Centre which helps people who’ve been homeless get back into accommodation, so these things that might end up in a skip now end up in the living rooms of people who need it most.”

Having expanded the business last summer, buying their own van and now offering transport, they’re about to launch their website and take a more modern approach to a traditional business.

“We’ve gone from strength to strength, building up our stock, and we’d like to bring technology into our niche industry,” says Bobby.

“When we first moved into the 12,000sqft unit, we looked around and it was quite daunting because it a big space to fill.

“But the warehouse is pretty much at capacity, so much so we’re now thinking about putting a mezzanine in to double our space. We’re still in our infancy, but we’ve got big long-term plans.”

Find out more about Action Props here.

Find out about some of the incredible productions that take place in Liverpool here.

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