Retirement for leading light of Saltburn arts association

Wilma Gardiner-Gill has stepped down as arts development officer for Saltburn Community and Arts Association (SC&AA), a role she has held for the last 23 years.

During her time with the group she has been instrumental in brokering arrangements with the Arts Council and the National Theatre, among many other achievements.

Her greatest hits include initiating the National Theatre Live streaming programme in the theatre, directing ten of the film festivals, sometimes with actor Charlotte Riley as patron, initiating the Friday jazz nights with Peter Nixon and the late Ivor Surtees, forming the Saltburn Film Society, and co-producing two films with film maker David Jinks – The Making of Atonement and Saltburn 150.

Mrs Gardiner-Gill was also involved with the Arts Council REACH project, and hosting the BBC Radio Gardeners Question Time in 2019 and Any Questions with Alex Forsyth in 2023. All this alongside curating the ongoing productions, concerts, films, and events in the Community Theatre and Community Hall.

The film festivals drew many famous and popular figures to Saltburn, including Robert Powell, Gabriella Drake, Hannah Gordon, Francis Matthews, Honor Blackman, Anita Harris, and Jeanie Findlay.

Mrs Gardiner-Gill recalls the kindness and warmth of the late presenter and film critic Barry Norman who supported the very first festival, and has a special respect for director Mark Herman (Little Voice, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas). “He came to the Saltburn Festival rather than the famous Cannes Film Festival,” she recalled. “His anecdotes were hilarious, he wouldn’t accept a fee or travel expenses – a joy! I have been lucky to work with so many talented people throughout the years.”

Before accepting the post of arts development officer, Mrs Gardiner-Gill’s background was largely media-based including studying photography, a stint in local radio, a position at the BBC’s children’s and features in Glasgow, being head hunted by Radio Drama in Edinburgh. She began as a radio production assistant and ended up producing jazz documentaries, features shows, and Edinburgh Festival cabaret shows for BBC radio.

“I found radio to be my spiritual home, despite an interesting secondment on TV’s 'Monarch of the Glen,’" she explained. “Years later, when we recorded BBC Radio’s Gardener’s Question Time and Any Questions here, it transported me back to the times of sitting in the Outside Broadcast van recording the live shows – happy days.”

She moved south as her late husband, from Middlesbrough, began to feel a certain homesickness, coinciding with some BBC changes at Edinburgh. Having always wanted to live by the sea, she remembers stepping off the train at Saltburn and thinking "This is it".

Shortly afterwards she successfully applied for the job of arts development promoter at the then Saltburn Theatre, and so began her next professional chapter, now concluded.

Paul Chappell, chair of SC&AA, said: “For over 20 years Wilma Gardiner-Gill has brought a huge diversity of music, acts, and events to Saltburn Community and Arts Association. We would like to thank her for her knowledge, persistence, and loyalty over this time and wish her the very best for her retirement.”

Her plans for the future include some freelance work in researching and script editing, but firstly, some well earned leisure time. “I will miss dealing with all the people who have bought tickets over the years, without whom I would not have had a job,” she said. “Also, without all the dedicated volunteers throughout the years the shows would not have happened. I live in Saltburn, so we will still say hello!”