A FILM producer and his actress partner chose Bournemouth Town Hall as the place to register their intention to marry.

Jonathan Sothcott and Jeanine Nerissa filed their official notice of intent to marry ahead, with a small-scale ceremony due to follow in London.

Mr Sothcott, 40, has produced a string of independent action and horror movies which have sold a million copies on DVD.

The pair met four years ago and Mr Sothcott moved from London to Bournemouth to be with his future wife.

“Jeanine already lived here. I lived in central London for the best part of 20 years and had had enough of it,” he said.

“I had always wanted to live by the sea and didn’t know Bournemouth well. I came down here and really started to love it.”

Mr Sothcott has produced a long list of independent films, working with stars actors including Mark Hamill, Jason Statham, Richard E Grant and frequent collaborator Martin Kemp.

His film Vendetta, with Danny Dyer, was said to be the most successful independent British film of 2013.

The Krays – Dead Man Walking was declared the biggest non-theatrical independent UK film of 2018 and his movies have sold a million copies on DVD.

The couple set up Shogun Films this year.

Jeanine Nerissa, 48, has appeared in a string of films including several produced by her future husband.

Mr Sothcott said: “She had a career as a legal accountant and came to acting later in life, which I think is quite amazing, when she was 40.”

The pair are due to marry in London in September. “It will be a small, intimate thing,” said Mr Sothcott.

“We’re just having a couple of friends. There are all these restrictions about how many you can have from different households.”

Mr Sothcott was due to begin shooting a new film, Nemesis, in March, starring Patrick Bergin, Guy Henry and Billy Murray, until the coronavirus crisis happened. “We’re hoping to pick that up in September,” he said.

He is also due to make Renegades, starring Lee Majors.