A SPECIAL bursary fund has been set up in memory of an award-winning Newcastle Emlyn TV producer who died last year.

Pat Llewellyn was renowned for discovering and developing new talent. She died of metastatic breast cancer aged 55 in October 2017, and the bursary has been created to remember her and honour the huge contribution she made to TV programming worldwide.

Pat created BBC2’s Two Fat Ladies, discovered Jamie Oliver and christened him The Naked Chef, made Gordon Ramsay famous with Channel 4’s Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, and launched the career of Mary Portas with Mary Queen of Shops.

She ran Optomen, a TV production company with offices in London, New York and LA, which under her leadership grew from a turnover of £5m to £55m.

In a joint collaboration, BBC, Channel 4 and ITV have now come together to set up the WFTV (Women in Film and Television) Pat Llewellyn Bursary Fund to find, and fund, women with the best, boldest and most creative, entertainment or factual TV projects.

Applications are open to any woman with a unique project and a passion for TV. Each year, a total of £30,000 will awarded to up to three candidates to help them develop their passion projects – which could be a one-off documentary or a series. Along with the cash will come a case of fine wine for each woman to help the creative juices flow!

As important as the money awarded will be the unique chance this bursary offers to open doors. Each successful applicant will be allocated a mentor who will help guide the candidates and get them in front of key decision-makers who can make their ideas happen.

To celebrate Pat’s Welsh roots, and to encourage other women from Wales to follow in her creative footsteps, one place each year will be held specifically for any woman either born in or living in Wales or with a Welsh parent. The other winner or winners can come from anywhere in the UK.

Pat’s husband and business partner at Optomen, Ben Adler said: “This is such an amazing opportunity for women across the UK to make their passion projects a reality.

"Pat would have been acutely embarrassed to have a bursary in her name, but she would have been very happy, and proud, to know that she was able to continue helping women to succeed in the TV industry.”

Liz Tucker, chair of Women in Film and Television, said: “Pat Llewellyn had an unparalleled skill in picking and identifying new talent, so this WFTV Bursary seems a really appropriate way of continuing the hugely positive impact she made to the industry and honouring her memory.”