THE producer of a £10m film being shot in the region has praised the acting talents of North-East girls.

At the weekend, more than 700 aspiring actresses queued for hours at Tyne Tees studios, in Newcastle, for the chance to play the lead role of Steph in the film, called The Other Half.

Producer Richard Johns, who is based in Newcastle, and writer/director Peter Howitt, who directed the blockbuster Sliding Doors, took the unusual step of holding open auditions.

They hoped to find a local girl with raw talent to play the film's heroine, who is from South Shields but becomes bored with her life and goes to Bordeaux to pick grapes.

On Saturday, Mr Howitt and Mr Johns spent 13 hours auditioning hopefuls and saw 550 girls. They whittled them down to a shortlist of 40, who were recalled for further auditions on Sunday.

Mr Johns said: "It's going to be a more drawn-out process than we thought, because the auditions were such a success.

"We are fairly confident that Steph is in the 40."

He said arriving at the shortlist had been especially hard because of the high standard of those auditioning.

"Both Peter and myself have been amazed by the phenomenal response and we have seen some real talent at the auditions," he said.

"North-East women are strong and passionate and we have come across wonderful personalities."