LegendaryTV producer in region for culture bid
I hope this whole process will galvanise people Sir Phil Redmond
TELEVISION producer and screenwriter Sir Phil Redmond paid a special visit to County Durham yesterday as part of the UK City of Culture 2025 judging panel.
County Durham is competing against three shortlisted areas for the title, which will be announced later this month.
During his visit, Sir Phil joked that he’d been able to see a number of sights, including the location Sir Keir Starmer was filmed enjoying a latenight beer in April 2021.
However, the Hollyoaks and Brookside producer also acknowledged how positive it was to see people across County Durham working together to highlight the county’s culture.
Sir Phil, chair of the City of Culture Expert Advisory Panel, said: “One of the things I especially enjoy about this process is coming out to the cities and meeting and talking to people and seeing how they’re working together to get behind the bid, people coming together sometimes for the first time ever, and it’s really great seeing that.
“I like the idea of talking about the history and heritage because I think there’s a lot of people across the UK who tend to live in places but they don’t really know why. I think it’s really great to hear about them wanting to talk about the history of the railways and the history of social movement and remind young people of what their heritage is.”
He added: “I hope this whole process will galvanise people to carry things through. Even if they don’t get through to build on it and develop and use those partnerships to develop a cultural strategy for the future.
“It’s worked elsewhere, other places like Sunderland who didn’t get [City of Culture] have set up Culture Sunderland which has done great things. I encourage everybody to use the work that has already been done and move forward with it.”
Sir Phil and the rest of the judging panel experienced a busy schedule during their trip to the county, which started in Durham City at Redhills, the historic home of the Durham Miners’ Association. It was the association’s motto which inspired the title of County Durham’s bid – ‘Into the Light: The past we inherit the future we build.’
The 11 members of the panel then spilt up in order to experience as much of the county as possible with one group heading to Dawdon, on the east coast, where they met local people who have engaged in a community arts project called Beaches of Dreams. Here the judges were able to visit an outdoor installation the group had created featuring handmade flags, as well as hear how the installation ties in with Black to Green, a project being developed within the bid that explores the county’s evolution from coal mining juggernaut to green powerhouse.
Meanwhile, other members of the panel travelled to Bishop Auckland to learn about the major regeneration projects under way in the area.
They heard about the work of The Auckland Project with a visit to the Spanish Gallery and No.42, where a community lunch took place and the judges were also introduced to representatives from local tourism businesses.
And finally a third group visited Durham City, where they explored the county’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, which includes Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle.
Other highlights included a visit to Prebends Bridge to enjoy a view captured by the world-renowned painter JMW Turner, a glimpse inside a secret garden and a presentation about the county’s bids for levelling up funding.
The judges then reunited for lunch at New Durham Working Men’s Club in the city. Here they enjoyed the warm welcome and spirit of camaraderie the region is famous for, as well as experiencing a slice of County Durham culture immortalised in the works of the Pitman Painters.
However, there was a 21st century twist, with live performances and guests representing the heart and soul on the county.
The judges also heard how this links to No Frills, Thrill Me, a Durham 2025 project that will challenge performers to entertain audiences in simple venues without the aid of props and special effects. Food for lunch was provided by REfUSE, a social enterprise committed to reducing food waste, while serving up imaginative dishes at its ‘pay as you feel’ community cafe in Chesterle-Street.
Finally the visit culminated at the Ogden Centre, where the judges heard about the work of Durham University’s cosmology and astrophysics departments. They also discovered how this important research has helped to inspire Light Year, a year-long cultural programme celebrating the region’s 1,300-year history of astronomy and space science.
The winner is due to be announced later this month.