Ruth Malkin is Access Coordinator for Manchester Disabled People’s Access Group (MDPAG), a registered charity for disabled people living in Manchester that aims to raise awareness about accessibility issues in the city. Established for over 10 years, MDPAG is one of the few access specialists in the North West and has recently extended its services to include advising the events industry about accessibility in venues across Greater Manchester.

H&E North spoke to Suzie Kennedy just days after she won a clutch of awards at the Original Celebrity Impersonator Convention in Las Vegas. Suzie, who is billed as ‘the most famous Marilyn Monroe lookalike in Europe’, has appeared in various adverts, films and TV shows and can be booked for events throughout the UK via Doncaster-based Fake Faces (www.fakefaces.co.uk).

Dr Rhodri Thomas, Professor of Events Management at Leeds Metropolitan University, talks to H&E North about the prospect of the events sector becoming professionalised.