Escorted
Shortlisted for the All3Media New Writers Collective 2024 and longlisted for the UK Film Festival Script Competition 2026.
When a struggling Yorkshire shoe shop owner is mistaken for a paid companion and offered £500 for a single evening, he creates a secret second life escorting professional women in a desperate attempt to save his failing business.
Set in a Yorkshire market town, Escorted follows Max Taylor, a decent, middle-aged shoe shop owner facing financial ruin. Still carrying the loss of his son Jake, Max is determined to save the family business he once hoped to pass on. When a chance encounter leads to a case of mistaken identity, Max is paid to accompany a successful professional woman to a charity event. Desperate for money, he makes a risky decision — to do it again.
What begins as a one-off solution quickly becomes a secret second life.
Operating under an alias, Max offers discreet companionship to professional women who need someone trustworthy by their side. Some need a date for an event, others someone to listen, support them, or simply help them navigate situations they would rather not face alone. To his surprise, Max discovers an unexpected talent for helping people feel understood.
However, this is equally the story of the women he meets. Each client brings their own emotional complexity, drawing Max into lives that are lonely, guarded, ambitious, complicated and often more vulnerable than they first appear.
At home, Hannah begins to notice small changes in the man she trusts most. As small lies turn into bigger deceptions, the strain on their marriage becomes increasingly difficult to ignore.
Meanwhile, Max's double life becomes harder to control. Emotional boundaries blur, loyalties shift, and unexpected connections form. With his secret at constant risk of exposure, Max is forced to confront the consequences of the life he has created and the cost of protecting the people he loves.
Blending warmth, humour and emotional tension, Escorted explores grief, loneliness, identity and connection through a cast of flawed, relatable characters. At its heart is a decent man trying to save the life he built, only to find himself living one he never expected.
