DEFIANT town councillors have hit back after a newspaper columnist labelled Frinton as seeming “full of elderly men with no teeth on mobility scooters”.
The Sun’s Rod Liddle had his say after Essex County Council revealed it is to plough £300,000 into a tourist campaign in an attempt to side-line the stereotypes of the county which many associate with the reality television show, The Only Way is Essex.
Mr Liddle said Essex was a lot duller than TOWIE in reality.
In his column, he said: “Essex council chiefs had better be careful what they wish for.
“They are trying to rebrand the county. They think it suffers from its association with the reality show TOWIE.
“I don’t know if that’s a true depiction of Essex.
“I went to Frinton once and it seemed rather more full of elderly men with no teeth on mobility scooters.
“But that image they are trying to get rid of is a very attractive one. And it may account for why people want to visit Essex.
“Show them what it’s really like and they might not bother coming.”
But Frinton’s deputy mayor Terry Allen said he didn’t recognise Mr Liddle’s “derogatory” description of the town.
“This town is prosperous and vibrant and full of young families,” he said.
“We have professionals, entrepreneurs and skilled trades people - it’s a great place to live, work and play and bring up a family.
“We may have a reputation for wanting this to be done right, but I don’t think his description is a true reflection of the town I know.
“I think his comments were somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but I’d invite him to return and have another walk around the town to see what it’s really like.”
The county council campaign will include adverts featuring Sir Roger Penrose, a Nobel prize-winning scientist born in Colchester, restaurateurs the Galvin Brothers and Dedham Vale vineyard, in a bid to rebrand the county’s image.
Strategic tourism manager Lisa Bone said: “There’s a lot of talk about the way Essex is depicted, but unless we tell people what it’s really like, they’ll only have one impression.”
Colchester High Steward Sir Bob Russell criticised TOWIE for exacerbating many of the county’s stereotypes.
He said: “[Essex] is for discerning visitors, not the kiss-me-quick, candyfloss daytrippers, or those who wrongly think the whole of Essex is like the fictional portrayal in that awful TV series.”
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