LoveLove Films were extremely thrilled and honoured to have been paid a visit last month from The Worshipful The Mayor of Bournemouth, Councillor Lawrence Williams, who took on the role in May and has had a varied career in Broadcast media.

After a tour around the studio meeting the LoveLove Films team and seeing an array of the projects we have been working on recently, including our latest children’s TV project in development Bottle Island, LoveLove Films’ in-house writer Oliver Selby sat down with The Mayor of Bournemouth to talk about his career in Broadcast, as well as Bournemouth’s booming creative, digital and broadcast industries.

LoveLove lead animator Sunny Clarke showing the Mayor of Bournemouth our latest project, Bottle Island

Oliver: Before becoming the Mayor of Bournemouth, you were in the Broadcast industry. How did you get started?

Mr. Mayor: Well, in 1966 at the grand age of 15 I started working I started working for Granada Television. I had a career directly in TV for 10 years before going into independent local radio for a further 10 years. So 20 years working for Broadcasters and then became a gamekeeper turned poacher I guess and went into the advertising agency world, specialising in Broadcast.

Oliver: We think it’s fantastic to have a Mayor that’s come from such an exciting and varied background.

Mr. Mayor: Kind of you to say.

Oliver: So, what brought you to Bournemouth?

Mr. Mayor: Actually, work. I moved around a lot before I came to Bournemouth for a job. Bournemouth is such a lovely place. I came with the intention of staying for 3 years and that was nearly 40 years ago, and here I am still. I loved it so much I changed direction and went into the ad agency, and I’ve never looked back after that.

Oliver: Then you started your own business?

Mr. Mayor: Yes. So, nearly 18 years ago I started The Consultancy. Which was my own advertising agency.

Oliver: Bournemouth is a great filming location and also has some great animation and production houses. Would you like to see more in the future?

Mr. Mayor: Always! There is a good reason why talent is all over Bournemouth. That’s because of the universities and the colleges. When I started in Bournemouth I realised that there was an awful lot of ad agencies but even more “graphic design studios” as they were in those days. Well, that’s because we have a fabulous art college, which developed into further education and then became Bournemouth University. And of course we are blessed with Arts University Bournemouth too now. So Bournemouth has been a centre of excellence for the arts and broadcast for many years now.

The Mayor of Bournemouth with the LoveLove Films team

Oliver: How do you think we can retain the fantastic talent that is coming out of the universities and colleges?

Mr. Mayor: Well, I think we’ve just got to keep encouraging people to look at starting digital businesses because that’s the way of the future, and like it or hate it we all live in a digital world. My ad agency, I set up to be everything but digital, but actually thinking about it we still did TV and radio adverts, and they were digital, so we weren’t exclusively non-digital. And it’s been a part of our lives now for a number of years. I mean, when I turn the television on these days I have stopped wondering how the pictures come to me. But if I sat down and though about it, it’s extraordinary that this little satellite in the sky is sending little pictures down to my television.

When I started in TV we had microwave lengths and you had to worry about line of sight, because one of the jobs I did was book satellite links so that you could do outside broadcasts. And unless you had line of sight you had no picture.

Oliver: From your experience, do you have any advice for young people looking to join the creative, broadcast and digital industries?

Mr. Mayor: Well I suppose the biggest thing is to make sure you have the talent. If you’ve got the talent then just go for it, you’ll find your niche, or people will find your niche. There are so many different opportunities now aren’t there. Schools, colleges, universities; they are spotting talent all the time and there are many more routes you can go down these days.

LoveLove Films’ writer Oliver Selby interviewing the Mayor of Bournemouth about his varied career and Bournemouth development

Oliver: As The Mayor of Bournemouth, it must be fantastic to see the region booming in the digital sector – recently being announced as the UK’s fastest growing digital economy by Tech Nation report. What do you think are the main reasons for this?

Mr. Mayor: Well, I think Bournemouth has always punched above its weight and I think it continues to do so. We are about to enter into a new chapter in the area with a change of local government and that can only be a good thing, it can only enhance the opportunities and the benefits. And so I think we have only just scraped the surface, we are at the beginning of a long journey.

Oliver: We are extremely excited to see the vast development going on in the region, from redeveloping the beach fronts to Lansdowne having significant investment. What else can we expect to see in the future?

Mr. Mayor: Well, I’ve just come off the Cabinet because, being the Mayor, you can’t have an executive position as well. One of the jobs I had was being the Cabinet Member for tourism, leisure and the arts. It’s all very special to me, Bournemouth. The sea front and the arts in particular. I was lucky enough to be appointed to the Arts Council South West and so I have a greater involvement in what happens, both digitally and in analog form as well, in the area. I don’t just look after Dorset in that respect, I’m available for people all over the South West.

Oliver: The council is an integral part of every day life. How can young people be involved in the council and learn what goes on in the council?

Mr. Mayor: Simply go online. We have a really good website which the council has spent a lot of money and time developing, and it is now at the point where it’s all singing and dancing, and you can find out virtually anything about local government. Both in Bournemouth and in the region, on the Bournemouth council website.

Oliver: Well, thank you very much! That was great!

Mr. Mayor: Thank you!

LoveLove Films’ Managing Director Georgina Hurcombe said of the Mayor of Bournemouth’s visit; “It’s great that the Mayor of Bournemouth is so immersed in local businesses and we were thrilled that he could come to the LoveLove studio to hear about the Lovelove studio and what we’re up to! It was really fascinating to hear the story of his broadcast career”