New Catherine Tate Netflix show Hard Cell finds Cowplain director James Kayler living his dream

Now James, who grew up in Cowplain, is an accomplished director, and has just finished his first major sitcom – Hard Cell, written by and starring comedy superstar Catherine Tate. Set in an all-women prison, it stars Tate in six roles, from the prison’s governor, to a male warden and several inmates.

The former Oaklands School pupil has worked his way up from running – the industry’s entry-level job – to directing comedy legends.

After finishing a degree in video production at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, James said: ‘I got this book of production companies and called every single company in it, saying “I'm a runner.” Out of the 600 I contacted, I think I got two responses, and one of them gave me a job on music videos, where I worked for a few months.’

After relentlessly building and working his contacts on every music video and advert, James landed a job on So You think You Can Dance? Like a dance version of Pop Idol or X Factor, it lasted two series, but it was a step up for the wannabe director.

‘I’ve worked on a lot of reality TV, and learnt a hell of a lot on how to craft a story, whether it's reality or drama or anything, it's about the images that tell a story.

‘It's just learning how to tell different stories. Then when I started doing scripted shows I found it incredibly easy because I already knew exactly what people were going to say.

‘It's not like a reality show where they're suddenly going to have a barney and they're going to run off into another room, you have to follow them, and then you're wondering: how on earth is that going to cut in an edit? You actually have time to plot out how you're going to cover a conversation.’

One of the shows he worked on was Celebrity Big Brother – but David Gest was not a fan of his work.

‘David Gest told me I was the worst director he'd ever worked with because he'd never been lit so badly, and it was basically because he didn't like the way his hair looked...’

But working on the revived Stars in Their Eyes, hosted by Harry Hill in 2015, put him where he wanted to be.

‘That was when I first got to do what I wanted to do – comedy is what I’ve always wanted to do. Harry Hill was so kind and generous with his time. He's very hands on, and he takes it very seriously. He came on the first shoot with me and was kind of over my shoulder. By the end of it, he told me I'd done a good job and it was amazing to hear that from someone who's revered in the comedy world, and is a hero of my dad and me.’

James has now become part of the pool of directors directing sketches for the BBC’s big annual fundraisers – Children in Need, Sport Relief and Comic Relief with stars like David Walliams, Matt Lucas and Jodie Comer and Stephen Fry.

It was a sketch for Comic Relief 2021 which brought him into contact with Catherine Tate, where her foul-mouthed Nan meets Daniel Craig’s James Bond.

‘It was bizarre, working with Daniel Craig in his last outing as Bond’ – this was after No Time to Die had wrapped – ‘we hired a stage at Pinewood and they gave us the actual set for M. I was just fan-boying so hard, taking constant selfies.

‘It was a massive privilege to get to shoot there.’

Craig’s part of the sketch was shot over Zoom, which ended up with James having to teach the A-lister how to set up and light his own green screen for the shoot.

‘Catherine had written that script, and we had a great day working on that, shooting it with Daniel.

‘She was really pleased with how it worked out, and she told me then about how she had written Hard Cell and was directing it herself and playing six characters.

‘I was like: “That's no mean feat - directing is tough in itself, let alone playing six characters as well.”

‘Then she rang me a few months later and asked if I fancied doing Hard Cell with her.

‘I held my screaming in until she hung up, and then I screamed for about five minutes. I couldn't believe I'd actually got a sitcom, and I'd be directing it with a British comedy hero.’

The sitcom was filmed last July and August, largely on location in a converted former DPD warehouse in Bermondsey, south east London – conveniently close to where James now lives.

‘Just getting to work with Catherine is a joy and the story itself is joyous – it's broad comedy, it's slapstick, it's physical, it's gag-heavy and to get to work with a huge cast, predominantly female as well, it was phenomenally good fun to work on.’

‘I felt like a candy shop - stepping up to the level that I've always wanted to get to, and working with a dream cast and an incredible script.

‘Having all the toys and a ginormous crew who all worked their butts off – they had an amazing work ethic.

‘Catherine's playing six characters – the transformations, the make-up and the prosthetics were incredible. Catherine was having to come in at five in the morning to be ready for us to shoot at eight – they even made her into a male character. When she first walked out on set like that, some of the supporting cast didn't even realise it was her which was brilliant.

‘It was everything I'd dreamed of playing with when I was using my sister's JVC camcorder when we filmed stuff in our garden for that short film.’

James has now returned to working on the new series of E4’s hit Married at First Sight: ‘I did the series last year which got nominated for a Bafta for best reality show – so that's put a spring in our step.’

He’s also written a sitcom called Lifeguards, which he has shot on Hayling Island.

‘I wrote that with my writing partner Steve Lawrence who's part of the BBC writers' room, with Burning Reel Productions - we've just done three taster episodes which we're taking to channels at the end of the month.’

And as if that wasn’t enough: ‘We're also developing another show, a comedy pilot with Donna Preston who's in Hard Cell – she's been in quite a few things - Good Omens, Sandman.

‘I've had a few interviews for other things as well, but I don't want to jinx it.’

And as for I’m Gone, the short film he shot with friends and family which set him on his path?

‘It was a complete plagiarism of The Sixth Sense – looking back on it now, it is horrendous. No one's going to see it again,’ he laughs. ‘But at the time I thought it was fantastic.

All six episodes of Hard Cell are available now on Netflix.