CONTROVERSIAL actor Chris Langham will be coming to Derby to help publicise his first film project since serving a jail sentence for downloading images of child pornography.

The Bafta-winning star of The Thick of It was given a custodial sentence in 2007 and has struggled to find work since his release.

But first-time directors Tom Kingsley and Will Sharpe cast him in their low-budget movie Black Pond and all three will be at Quad on Friday (January 20) to talk about the film.

Tom says that they had no hesitation in employing Langham.

"We are very sure that there's no problem in hiring him," he says.

Will adds: "We were of the opinion that he should be allowed to work and he was the actor we wanted to be in the film. By the time he was reading the script and saying 'yes', we were just pleased he was saying 'yes'."

Tom says: "We sent Chris the script because in our minds he was always the best bet to play the part. He was always our dream actor for the role.

"Some people think he shouldn't be allowed to work again. That's their opinion. He did a crime, which he has apologised for and done his time for, and that's terrible, but he shouldn't be sentenced for the rest of his life. People have also reached a conclusion about him based on stories that ran before his trial.

"Having got to know him, we can say that he's a fantastic person to work with; a really generous person and it has been a good experience all round."

Quad has similarly defended its decision to welcome Langham to Derby.

Adam Buss, Quad's director of audience engagement, says: "Quad is committed to showing the best in independent, world and Hollywood cinema and Black Pond is a critically acclaimed comedy drama from two highly-talented young directors.

"We are also keen to give access to industry talent for Quad's customers and that's why we are hosting a Q&A with both directors of the film and the film's star Chris Langham."

Langham himself has condemned what he did and in a frank interview in The Guardian apologised for his actions.

In the dark comedy Black Pond he plays Tom Thompson, the head of an ordinary British family who are accused of murder when a stranger dies at their dinner table.

Out walking his dog, Tom meets a disheveled man called Blake and invites him over for tea. Blake dies in the company of the dysfunctional Thompson family and, six months later, the story finds its way to the press, the facts are bent and the Thompsons become known to the public as The Family of Killers.

Comedian Simon Amstell (Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Grandma's House) makes his film debut as a sinister psychotherapist.

Astonishingly, the film was made for just £25,000.

Will says: "Directing is a lot about problem solving and I'm not sure that changes much even with a bigger budget. We just had to make sure we were problem-solving in a cheap way."

Tom adds: "The big advantage of doing it this way is that we didn't have anybody telling us what to do. There was far more creative freedom. That was a good pay off for not having much money."

Tom and Will (both aged 25) met at university. Will has since concentrated on writing and acting (including a long stint in Casualty and the recent series of Sherlock) while Tom has been making music videos and adverts.

"We got to a stage where we were frustrated creatively and decided to give this a go," says Will.

They began with a short film and graduated to Black Pond which has earned four-star reviews in The Guardian and The Times. But with no money for marketing and promotion, getting Black Pond seen at all has been tough.

Tom says: "It's a chicken and egg situation where you don't really get reviews unless you are in the cinema and you don't get in the cinema unless you have reviews. So we have just had to get it shown where we can. Which is why it's great to have independent cinemas like Quad that don't have to go through central offices. It would have been so much easier if we had made Harry Potter!"

Will adds: "If all that had happened at the end was that we had managed to make a film that would have been fine. We would have learned a lot and it would have been worth doing for us. But the reaction we have got has been a massive bonus. The film has taken on its own life now."

Black Pond (Cert 15) can be seen at Quad in Derby from January 20-23.

Tom Kingsley, Will Sharpe and Chris Langham will be at Quad for a post-screening Q&A on Friday at 6pm. Call 01332 290606.