Announcing Eddie Marsan OBE, Dame Elaine Paige and Giles Terera MBE as Mountview’s first Vice Presidents

As part of our 80th birthday celebrations, Mountview is delighted to announce the appointment of Eddie Marsan OBE, Dame Elaine Paige DBE and Giles Terera MBE as our first ever Vice Presidents. They join Dame Judi Dench who has been President of the school since 2006.  
 
The role of Vice President at Mountview is an ambassadorial role awarded to exemplars in the field of the performing arts. This honour celebrates and formalises Mountview’s longstanding relationship with Eddie Marsan, Elaine Paige and Giles Terera, who for many years have been strong role models and ambassadors for the school.  
 
Eddie Marsan graduated from Mountview’s BA Acting course in 1991 and received an Honorary Doctorate in 2018 having been a key ambassador for the school’s campaign to move to Peckham. Dame Elaine Paige received an Honorary Doctorate from Mountview in 2012 and has offered her own Elaine Paige Scholarship for Excellence in Musical Theatre since 2020, the first recipient being Olivier Award nominated West End star Chumisa Dornford-May who graduated from Mountview in 2023. Giles Terera graduated from Mountview’s BA Acting course in 1998 and was previously Deputy Chair of the Board. During the pandemic, Giles hosted Mountview LIVE, an online YouTube series where he interviewed Dame Judi Dench, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Olivia Colman and more.  

Sally Ann Gritton, Principal and CEO of Mountview, said:  
“In this 80th birthday year we are joyfully celebrating Mountview’s success and resilience by welcoming three extraordinary Vice Presidents to join us, supporting Dame Judi Dench our illustrious President. As champions of our work and our ambitions Elaine Paige DBE, Eddie Marsan OBE and Giles Terera MBE epitomise the values of our world-class training.  During these times of struggle in the arts and education, we are more energised than ever to inspire our students to challenge the status quo, and we are looking forward to working with our Vice Presidents who collectively bring such a wealth of industry experience.” 
 

Eddie Marsan OBE, Vice President of Mountview, said: “I wouldn’t have a career without Mountview, I owe this institution everything. I’m honoured to be Vice President of the school and look forward to helping it offer brilliant training to everyone, regardless of their ethnicity, class, gender or sexuality. Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and we must change that.” 
 

Dame Elaine Paige DBE, Vice President of Mountview, said: “I have enjoyed a long and rewarding relationship with Mountview – from attending performances, and mentoring students through masterclasses and also establishing the Elaine Paige Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre, which helps fund a student’s tuition. Supporting the training of the next generation of artists has always been deeply important to me, and being invited to serve as Vice President further strengthens my connection to the academy’s artistic leadership. I am deeply honoured to accept this role and look forward to continuing my close and meaningful association with Mountview” 
 

Giles Terera MBE, Vice President of Mountview, said: “I couldn’t be more excited and honoured to be continuing my long association with Mountview. We need strong and daring young creative artists more than ever. Mountview has always been at the forefront in providing rich foundational training for such artists and I look forward to continuing that work as it’s Vice President.”
 
Congratulations to Mountview’s new Vice Presidents!