Julie Walters

Julie Walters was brought up in Smethwick, and is one of the UK’s most popular female entertainers. A successful stage performer, a best-selling author and an award-winning screen actress, Julie Walters is a gifted artist. She has won several British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards, a Golden Globe and is an Academy Award nominated actress. Warley Woods Community Trust is privileged to have Julie Walters as a patron of our park.

Colin Buchanan

Originally from Dundee, Colin Buchanan is an actor/director, probably best known for the long running BBC detective series Dalziel & Pascoe. Having worked for many years in and around Birmingham Colin and his family moved from London to Warley Woods at the beginning of 1998. After opening the Picnic in the Park on several occasions, he was invited to become a patron of the Community Trust in 2003, a position he was delighted and honoured to accept. One of these days he might even find the time to start playing golf!

Carl Chinn

Born in Moseley to parents from Sparkbrook and Aston, Carl Chinn grew up in Birmingham and was educated at Moseley School. He initially followed his father and grandfather into bookmaking before entering academia, gaining his Ph.D. in 1986. Professor Carl Chinn MBE Ph.D. is well-known throughout Birmingham and the Black Country as a historian, broadcaster, newspaper columnist and author. Carl is the author of 21 books, many of which focus on various aspects of Birmingham's history.