Nordic writer-producer and TROM creator Torfinnur Jákupsson, is calling for a new Independent Premium Tier within the UK’s High-End Television (HETV) tax relief “designed to support scripted drama that is culturally ambitious, internationally co-produced, and sustainably made under the current £1M/hour threshold.”
“We need a system that better reflects how great TV is actually made in 2025,” says Jákupsson, founder of newly launched UK indie development company Red Herring Story. “It is about backing those already doing more with less.”
In March this year Jákupsson launched his UK development company Red Herring Story, the UK affiliate of GRÓ Studios.
Jákupsson says the current HETV model still leaves a blind spot for a growing segment of high-end drama that falls just below the spend threshold “but punches well above its weight in ambition and cultural value.” “High-end shouldn’t just be defined by how much money you spend,” Jákupsson adds. “It should be defined by impact, artistry, and ambition.”
Jákupsson’s proposal says a new Independent Premium Tier would introduce a dedicated support band within the HETV relief for projects with budgets between £750K and £950K per broadcast hour, providing they meet rigorous editorial, cultural, and sustainability criteria.
As the creator of TROM – the first series made in the Faroe Islands – Jákupsson helped shape the debate that led to the Faroese industry’s current tax rebate system. “There, it was a matter of lifting the low ceiling of support. Here, it’s about making sure the floor doesn’t shut new and independent voices out. The current threshold for high-end drama in the UK was set over a decade ago. It blocks access for smart scripted drama that is independently produced, regionally based, and sustainably made under £1M/hour. These shows are often critically and commercially successful yet can’t qualify for support.” Jákupsson believes the new proposal would encourage more editorial diversity and creative risk, expand regional and indie access, reward environmentally efficient production, strengthen UK drama’s global marketability, and back the kind of shows audiences love – without inflating budgets just to qualify as high-end.
Staff Reporter
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