In 2019/21, she was named as one of the 100 most influential disabled people in the UK (Shaw Trust Power 100). In 2020, she won a Royal Television Society Award for best drama performance for her leading role in Obsession (BFI Network). In 2021, she was nominated for the Entrepreneur of Excellence Award for her broadcasting work at the National Diversity Awards.
Kim got her first TV break as a presenter for BBC’s Disability Today and From The Edge, often writing and producing her own items. From 2002-2005 Kim played Penny Pocket in four series and two arena tours of BAFTA award winning, Balamory. This role won Kim an award from Whizz Kidz for representation .
Following Balamory, Kim found, frustratingly, she was rarely offered the chance to play ‘characters,’ only “medical problems” and “stereotypical portrayals of disability”. This led Kim to set up her own production company, Scattered Pictures. Since 2011, the company, based in Kim’s home city of Newcastle Upon Tyne, has developed projects which focus on under-represented talent and perspectives. Kim believes “meaningful inclusion in broadcasting will happen when fair representation exists throughout the whole creative and production process on and off screen, from training and writing to directing, right through to commissioning”.
Scattered Pictures has had three radio documentary commissions for BBC World Service (Kim presented two of these) which have been well received across the globe and chosen as Pick of the Week by the Observer and The Times. A fourth commission – a new four part series is now in development. It will be presented by Kim and is due to broadcast early 2022.
Kim has received drama and comedy writing commissions from BBC, ITV and C4 and is currently writing and producing for TV, film and audio, collaborating with some of the UK’s leading indies. A number of these projects feature leading acting roles for Kim including a feature film development with Ardimages UK (God’s Own Country) and BBC Film, and a TV drama series written by Dan Sefton.
Kim was executive producer and played the lead role in Obsession, a short drama film funded by BFI Network. The film won two RTS Awards (Drama Performance for Kim and Drama Short). Other acting credits include Boy Meets Girl, Wolfblood, feature film, Bliss, and Lodger, a TV comedy pilot she co-wrote and performed live at BBC Salford Sitcom Showcase, as well as numerous theatre roles.
Kim won a John Brabourne Award in 2016 and was a board member of the Royal Television Society North East and the Borders 2017-21. She has been a full BAFTA member since 2014 and is Deputy Chair of BFI’s Disability Screen Advisory Group. She has chaired industry events for RTS, BFI (including at London Film Festival) and for Netflix. Kim is a trustee of the North’s leading development agency for writing and reading, New Writing North. She wrote the semi-autobiographical children’s book, The Wheelie Wonderful Life of Millie Monroe.