A FILMMAKER from Tattenhall says his near miss at this year’s Baftas won’t stop him working on his next big project.

Geoff Deehan, of Old Hall Lane, Hargrave got to rub shoulders with the elite of the British film industry on Sunday after he was nominated in the specialist factual category for his experimental Channel 4 documentary The Plane Crash.

The film shows a Boeing 727 jumbo jet dubbed ‘Big Flo’ being deliberately crashed in the Mexican desert to analyse what happens during an aircraft disaster.

Cameras, crash-test dummies and scientific equipment were all planted onboard before the passenger plane was flown into the ground by remote control.

Geoff, 60, created and produced The Plane Crash and spent four years trying to bring it to the screen with the aim of giving fresh insights into making air travel safer.

But although the programme attracted an UK audience of 4.2 million when it was screened last October, it failed to scoop the accolade, losing out to artist Grayson Perry’s documentary exploring the different classes in Sunderland.

Surprised viewers took to Twitter after the show, declaring that The Plane Crash should have been the winner.

@FuzzyRobson wrote ‘Boo you #bafta! I loved The Plane Crash!’, while @KatieMBailey said ‘Really gutted The Plane Crash didn't win the #bafta – that was true original documentary making at its best.”

But Geoff has taken a philosophical approach to losing out, and said it had been ‘a humbling experience’.

“Being at the Baftas is always like that because you’re in a room with so many extremely talented people who make wonderful films,” he said.

“Of course I’m disappointed not to have won, but congratulations to Grayson Perry and Channel 4 for their success.

“I’m very grateful for the support of all those, especially on Twitter, who thought we should have won and one of the real satisfactions of this job is knowing you’ve brought enjoyment into peoples’ lives.”

“There’s always next year, and I’m now working on developing Plane Crash 2 – which will be bigger and better!”

“We’re also working on a series for Channel 4 daytime set in a local stud, which is an observational series about a North West police force, and a string of corporate, advertising, and web productions.

“We were filming an away day for M&S Bank last week in Delamere Forest, which was a bit of a contrast to the Mexican desert, but just as much fun for all involved.”