CHARLES Morris, proprietor of Skipton's Plaza Cinema, is in the running to be named the UK's 'Cinema Hero'.

Mr Morris, who is also the proprietor of Keighley's Picture House, is on a shortlist of ten for the UK Cinema Hero competition organised jointly by the Walt Disney company and the UK Cinema Association.

The competition has been launched to coincide with the release last year of the film Empire of Light, a drama centred on a cinema in a British coastal town in the early 1980s.

More than 200 people were nominated - mainly by cinema-goers - for their roles in the cinema industry across companies and venues of all shapes and sizes and in a wide range of roles.

Mr Morris took over the running of the Plaza, which in 2012 marked its centenary, almost 25 years ago. Before that, he had restored and re-opened the Rex cinema in Elland, near Halifax, and went on to take over the Picture House, Keighley, the Cottage Road cinema in Headingley, Leeds, the Royalty in Bowness on Windermere and the Roxy in Ulverston, all of which he is still running.

Mr Morris, who in December last year welcomed BBC4 Any Questions? to the Plaza, said cinemas were his passion, and that people needed to visit them more often if they were to keep going.

He said: “It is most gratifying to be recognised in this way. Cinemas have been my passion but it has been damned hard work and it is nice that it is appreciated.

"I have enjoyed it more than my previous career in engineering, but it has been tough at times. It has been especially difficult since lockdown for a number of reasons, principally the choice of films, or lack of, and the change in people’s habits.

"Everyone says there is ‘nothing like seeing a film on the big screen’, but they need to realise that in order to keep local cinemas alive, they need to patronise them more often than just when the James Bond films turn up.”

Empire of Light, directed by Sam Mendes, came out last year and is still on release in cinemas. It stars Olivia Colman as the manager of a South coast cinema who is struggling with her mental health. Stephen played by Micheal Ward is a new employee longing to escape the provincial town where he faces daily adversity. Together they find a sense of belonging and experience the healing power of music, cinema, and community.