I am thrilled that Louise Sutton agreed to take part in our Women Who Rock series. Lou is a BAFTA and Emmy winning producer for her work on CBBCs Dumping Ground and has worked on a range of soaps and dramas from Grange Hill and Coronation Street to Midsummer Murders and most recently Netflix’s acclaimed Black Mirror.
Having worked with Lou and her team at Lime Pictures last year, I was super impressed by her energy, vision and passion for the company, team and the work she does.
What has been your greatest failure?And what did you learn from it?
My greatest failure, so far, came when I was encouraged to go for a big job at the company I worked at. I didn’t want the job but I was talked into applying for it and then I didn’t get it! I was devastated at the time and it lead to me leaving and going freelance. Fortunately I never looked back! I learned to trust my gut and also that sometimes in life you don’t get what you want, you get what you need.
Who has opened doors for you?
Gina Cronk gave me my first break as a Producer and I am eternally grateful to her for taking a punt on me. I try to pay her generosity forward and give people chances, rather than take the ‘safe’ option.
What advice would you give your 25-year-old self?
Be yourself, find your tribe, phone your parents.
What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken?
I jacked in a very good job to move to Australia on whim, chasing a boy. After it all went wrong, I decided to get a job in a coffee shop and see out my visa. That wasn’t to be and I ended up working as the Assistant to an Executive Producer living the dream at Movieworld Studios on the Gold Coast
What’s the best book you’ve read/podcast you’ve listened to so far this year?
I listen to a lot of podcasts and read a lot of books so it’s really hard to pick just one. I’ll reluctantly go for one of each… Elizabeth Day’s How To Fail is brilliant – particularly the Mo Gawdat episode. I just finished Kate Spicer’s Lost Dog and it made me laugh and cry in equal measures.
When you’re having a bad day, what do you do to make yourself feel better?
I go for a run. I’ve been running with the same two friends for over 10 years. They are both writers so it’s part-therapy and part script-surgery. When I was in LA for the Emmy’s last year, one of my running buddies, Debbie Oates, was there at the same time. So we went for a run around Beverley Hills. It felt like the perfect moment to be there with her after the many, moany hours we have spent together on runs in the rain.
If you weren’t doing what you are doing, what would you have done?
I would probably own a pub. It’s the only other job I’ve really done, and I always feel at home behind a bar.