TV producer veteran Mike Swindells returns to Salford to receive honorary degree

Throughout his career, Mike has been an unwavering advocate for the production industry across the North West. 

Most renowned for launching and overseeing The Real Housewives of Cheshire for the hit reality show’s first 14 seasons, his determination to deliver a series that would exceed expectations and promote the region successfully has seen the show air in approximately forty countries worldwide and has continually created work and opportunities for hundreds of production staff and businesses across the region. 

But his contribution to the industry doesn't stop there, his lengthy portfolio includes documentary production and music video creation where he was able to support up-and-coming local acts alongside more established bands such as Britpop favourites Ash & Space. 

More recently though, he has taken time out to support young filmmakers and content creators as a lecturer in Creative Media at Burnley College.

Coming from a Salfordian family, Mike was keen to start his career at the University in the 1990s as a student in Media and Communications and he credits the city, the support of his industry-facing lecturers and the atmosphere during his studies for fuelling his ambition and later success.

Mike said: "I just loved being in the city. I would walk through Manchester every day and down into Salford and you could feel a buzz in the air.

"It was a brilliant time and having lecturers like Chris Lee (aka author and musician C.P. Lee) who had been a singer in a punk band in the 70s and who would tell us amazing stories about the local music scene, his peers and attending well known gigs. It all felt really special. 

"Learning from people like Chris, Peter Ridsdale-Scott (former BBC Commissioner), and Bob Dickinson (TV & radio producer/journalist) made you feel like anything was possible and it was all within reach.

"We wouldn't think twice about ringing up someone at Granada TV and asking to interview well-known people. They always said yes and it was because we were from Salford and it had this great reputation."

Whilst enrolled at Salford, Mike was invited to a take part in a series of industry placements where he worked at the BBC during the day and Granada in his evenings and weekends, resulting in him securing his first full-time contract in BBC Manchester’s Entertainment Features department. 

The skills learnt at Salford enabled him to advance quickly and he soon established himself as self-shooting director. In an unexpected twist of fate, these abilities led to him reuniting with former lecturer Bob Dickinson when they were dispatched to Kosovo with pop icon Lulu to film the conclusion of her BBC documentary It’s Lulu. 

As career opportunities beckoned, Mike missed his moment of walking across the graduation stage until yesterday when he finally completed that step. 

Mike said: "Being nominated for an honorary doctorate is very bizarre and really surreal, especially since I wasn’t able to graduate with my classmates back in 1997. We’re all still in touch though and they are all over the moon about it too, even if they are a little bit baffled about the whole thing!

“When I found out that I’d been nominated, I was slightly conflicted about whether I deserved it, but I think it’s easy to forget how much work goes in to making TV programmes and how production teams are often overlooked in favour of those we see onscreen. 

“I’ve worked with so many brilliant people who have worked tirelessly to deliver the best possible programmes and, at a time when the television industry is going through a crisis, I think it’s great that we get some recognition for that. So, although this is all very unexpected, I’m really excited to accept it for on my behalf and also as recognition of the amazing teams that I’ve worked with over the years.”

Despite Mike's colourful CV, he recognises the difficulty of being based in the North West and trying to work in the media. He explained that due to the level of competition and peaks and troughs of opportunities, it can be a difficult career to pursue.

"The TV industry has always been London-centric and over the years I’ve seen some brilliant people leave the North West to progress their careers, so it takes a certain amount of determination and resilience to stick with it. 

“That’s one of the reasons why it was so important to make a success of The Real Housewives of Cheshire – the show continues to create opportunities because my team and I planned for the long term and put in place the foundations that enable it to still employ people today.”

Being from a Salfordian family himself, Mike continued to praise the city, its people and atmosphere.

Mike said: "There’s a real honesty and authenticity shared by the people who are from Salford. 

“Although Manchester gets most of the glory, we all know that a lot of the success that the city has enjoyed has been as a result of the hard work that has come out of Salford.

"It would have been hard to grow up in the 90s and not be inspired by Granada TV, Factory Records, Tony Wilson, Joy Division and New Order – they spurred us all on to want to achieve great things, but being from Salford united a lot of those people and their influence still has a huge effect on us all today”. 

Following his departure from Housewives, Mike has continued working in production and developing new projects, however an unexpected offer to teach - utilising his knowledge and experience to help inspire the next generation trying to make it in media - was hard to ignore.

Whilst Mike has been lecturing at Burnley College, he has been able to witness his student’s skills as they evolve and enjoys seeing them being inspired and working hard to create ambitious films.   

He said: “It’s brilliant to see the students turn an idea into a full-blown piece of work but it feels particularly special when they either exceed their own expectations or find their niche and realise that they are particularly strong in a specific area of production. It’s those turning points that really prove to the students that they can succeed."

Whilst still being involved in TV production, Mike aspires to go right back to his roots and become a lecturer at the University.

"I’ve always been a freelancer so I never ignore an opportunity and the world of TV production and content creation are crossing over more than ever, so there are exciting times ahead. But if the opportunity arose, it would obviously be brilliant to return to Salford to support new filmmakers. If I can help inspire them as much as my lecturers inspired me, that would be an incredibly opportunity.”