Breakfast with Bristol24/7: Pat Hart

Pat Hart’s cup sits abandoned on a table in Easton Community Centre while the broadcaster stands talking with BCfm presenter Ash Jenkins.

He makes his way back across the room to the Café des Amis counter, smiling and chatting to people along the way before finally greeting me with a warm hug.

“I did actually have breakfast a couple of hours ago,” says Pat slightly guiltily. Despite this admission, he gamely orders Spanish toast and a fresh drink before settling down at a table in the centre of the room, which is full of parents and children at midday on a recent Wednesday.

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It’s been a good morning for the BCfm CEO, who reveals the main studio on the ground floor of Easton Community Centre is finally up and running – six months after it was devastated by a fire that broke out when a show was live on air.

Pat confirms the newly-renovated room will now be more accessible and his meeting with Ash, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, was to discuss a return to the airwaves for the popular presenter.

While there is a silver lining, the fire has taken its toll and the challenges faced by the volunteer-run station were the subject of a recent documentary on BBC Radio 4.

Olivette Otele, Primrose Granville, Ivan Jackson and Pat Hart in the newly-opened BCfm studio. Photo by Ellie Pipe

“It’s been a real challenge but for the presenters, but it’s been amazing because they have found out that people love what they do,” says Pat, admitting that – aside from the birth of his daughter – the station is one of the things he is most proud of since coming on board to run it.

A radio station for Bristol that set out to provide a platform for voices that were not often heard and shape a news agenda relevant to people in all communities, BCfm remains a beacon of inclusivity and diversity, an ethos that Pat has always championed.

One of four sons, Pat was into radio and music while his brothers preferred sport. The family moved to Bristol when he was 13, living in Southville for a time before ending up in Kingswood.

“In Bristol, one of the first things I did was start a band, based in the crypt of St Paul’s Church on Coronation Road,” says Pat. “We used to knock about with Tricky and (DJ) Bungy, they were all in our little crew,”

With his band, Fresh Blood, Pat toured all around Europe. The group also managed acts and gigged with big names, from Peter Andre to De La Soul and Public Enemy.

Taking a bite of the toast and dip combo in front of him, the broadcaster explains how money from record sales was put into building a community radio station in the former Avon Environmental Centre in Brislington, on the site now occupied by Sainsbury’s.

“It was a whole One Love thing, so if you were black, white, fat, gay, straight, whatever, if you loved the music, you’d go to a Fresh Blood gig. It was about being inclusive – that’s been the mantra in everything I have done.”

Pat Hart says inclusivity is key to everything he does. Illustration by Anna Higgie

Pat recalls the day one of his volunteers came to him about a young guy in Hanham who was a prolific car thief.

“We did a session with him and taught him the basics of how to mix rave and hip hop and house mix. He came back a couple of times and then he was hooked. The buzz from nicking cars was channelled into mixing music and he didn’t nick a car again.

“I had a phone call from one of the DS’s saying ‘what have you done with him? I’ve not had any reports of stolen cars’.”

Pat and his team started to get referrals from social services and they went on to form Elevation, an organisation that worked with young people from as far afield as South Gloucestershire and Tower Hamlets in London.

The broadcaster has also produced and starred in the Carib-Asian cookery series alongside his wife Sherrie Eugene-Hart, a renowned TV presenter, broadcaster and sign language interpreter.

The pair first went out following an awards ceremony they were both working at.

“I’d known her for years and I’m not going to lie, I always fancied her,” says Pat with a smile. Reminiscing on their first coffee date, he adds: “Don’t laugh but it was in the Sainsbury’s café in Emersons Green. People say how do you know, but you just know.” He and Sherrie got married two years later.

He admits he does not intend to stay at BCfm forever and reveals he would like to work on more documentaries, saying “I love storytelling and I feel it’s really important”, he’d also like to work more with Sherrie again.

Pat has always used his platform to champion diversity and inclusivity, but he says there is still a long way to go.

“On the surface, it may appear things have got better in terms of diversity, but my worry is that so many people do not understand it so it may get worse in the short term. Everyone knows they have got to be seen to be diverse, but are they really?

“We talk about things more, but they are not actually getting better? Giving people opportunities to mix with people they would not normally is key to making things better.”

Café Des Amis
Easton Community Centre, Kilburn Street, Easton, BS5 6AW
Veggie breakfast including coffee: £6
Spanish toast including coffee: £5
Total: £11

Illustration by Anna Higgie

Read more: One Love as Bristol community radio station reopens after fire