Film starring Newcastle comic wins top Cannes award

A film starring Newcastle comic Dave Johns has been awarded the top gong at the Cannes Film Festival.

I, Daniel Blake won the prestigious Palme d’Or this week at the French festival.

Directed by Ken Loach, the film tells the story of a carpenter and widower struggling to get by after illness puts him out of work. Facing a difficult battle to obtain help from the state, Blake forms a bond with a single mother in a similar situation.

Fellow Geordie comic Gavin Webster also appears in the film, which was shot in Newcastle.

While Johns has previously appeared in theatre productions in Edinburgh I, Daniel Blake marks his first film role.