Steve Pateman

Steve Pateman is renowned for his anecdotes from how he went from Earls Barton to Broadway. Starting in the family shoe business, W J Brookes, straight from school at the age of 17, he learnt the trade from his farther, eventually taking over the running of the factory when his farther retired. When a down turn in the shoe industry led Steve to look to new ideas he stumbled into the market of making kinky boots for the transvestites and transgender community. A series of events then led him into a world of new experiences, people and celebrities, as well as becoming a television star BBC2 programme, 'The Kinky Boot Factory' – with shaving his legs and learning to walk in six-inch stiletto heels were just two of the things he did to save his family business. The programme caught the attention of film-makers and in 2005, it became the film, Kinky Boots. Now the New York stage version has won the Tony award for Best Musical.