A landmark photography project
Photography by Katie O'Neill and James Taylor
Adrian Mills is Chief Operating Officer, BBC England. He is responsible for the business and operational management of BBC England and has been instrumental in consolidating the BBC’s continued successful presence at MediaCity. He is responsible supporting around 3,000 staff based in major broadcast centres outside of London including Salford and in local radio and television stations across the country.
Adrian is based at MediaCity and lives in nearby Salford Quays.
He began his career at the BBC, directing and producing programmes for children, including The Really Wild Show, Record Breakers and Play School. In 1991 he relocated to Toronto, Canada where he became Head of Children’s & Education for educational broadcaster TVO, Head of Children’s, Youth and Daytime for CBC Television, and then Executive Director of Programming for CBC Radio.
Adrian returned to the UK in 2004 and became Chief Executive of LGT, a new media production company contracted by the UK Department for Education to create interactive teaching and learning resources for gifted children.
He returned to BBC Children’s in 2009, moving to the North West in 2011 to become Chief Adviser to Peter Salmon, the founding Director of BBC North. In 2014 he became General Manager of BBC North and then Deputy Chief Operating Officer, BBC North. He took up his England role in 2019.
Adrian has led and participated in a wide range of large scale change projects in Canada and the UK. He likes to keep in touch with his creative roots and was recently an Executive Producer on the new series of Teletubbies for CBeebies.
Adrian was a governor of The Manchester College for 6 years.
"Manchester and Salford can best be described as friendly, creative, passionate, bustling with energy, with oases of peace and quiet, it’s a real privilege to live and work in Salford, on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal - the home of innovation in the North West".
THE SHOOT: MediaCity, Salford
BBC Quay House, The Studios, MediaCity Piazza and the view of the BBC from IWM2
Student reflection: James Taylor
The shoot with Adrian was a great experience. We did our photography around the BBC buildings, studio and piazza at MediaCity. Adrian was great to work with, easy to talk to and had interesting stories to tell. Working alongside my more experienced fellow photographer Katie, allowed me the opportunity to share ideas and gave me added confidence during the shoot .
The weather stayed on our side throughout until towards the end when the sun came out but with a quick change of settings, that was solved. Overall the shoot was very successful, I managed to get some great shots from each of the spots around MediaCity. This was a wonderful professional opportunity to collaborate with someone from within the creative industries. Invaluable experience for me as I continue with my studies in commercial photography at university.
James & Katie in action
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