Wigan bus driver shares his joy at being behind the wheel in arts festival film

Created by Northern Heart Films and entitled The Road To Happiness, the show focuses on people living in Wigan and Leigh and the everyday things that make them happy.

Among them is Jamie Jackson, who is one of the youngest drivers at Stagecoach Manchester, having started his career at the Wigan depot when he was just 18.

Jamie, who started driving buses for Stagecoach Manchester 18 months ago, passed both his driving test and bus examinations just eight months after leaving school.

He said: “I’ve wanted to be a bus driver since primary school and unlike a lot of my friends I’ve always been quite consistent in what I wanted to do. I’m just happy to be here, I love driving buses and all things engines!”

Jamie is one of many inspiring stories to be featured in the documentary by Northern Heart Films, which will be shown for free at Wigan Arts Festival.

During the film, he says: “Driving around Wigan is just amazing, honestly. I like meeting new people, they’re always so friendly and they always tell you about their life. I just love being a bus driver, it makes me so happy.”

Natasha Hawthornthwaite, creative director at Northern Heart Films, said: “It’s been such a wonderful experience filming with Jamie and we’ve enjoyed capturing his story for our short film at this year’s Wigan Arts festival. A special thanks must go to Stagecoach who have been so accommodating.

“At Northern Heart Films we’re an award-winning film company based in Wigan with a passion for telling stories that inspire positive change. We’ve really enjoyed filming with Jamie and collaborating with Stagecoach on some of the key elements in the film.

“The film follows a couple of different local residents in Wigan and Leigh and unearths what happiness means to them. It’s a positive story that I hope leaves everyone feeling inspired to pursue their own dreams. We’re really excited to be setting up a pop-up cinema in the heart of Wigan and we hope everyone comes along to see it whilst it’s on the big screen.”

Lee Wasnidge, managing director of Stagecoach Manchester, said: “It’s brilliant to see Jamie getting involved in this film, profiling the fantastic people of Wigan and Leigh, and sharing his passion for buses. We’re so excited to see Jamie’s debut and continue to be endlessly proud to have him as part of the Stagecoach Manchester team.”

The Road to Happiness is being shown at Wigan Arts Festival, which runs until August 14.

Find out more at www.wiganarts.com

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