Express & Star

Wolverhampton mother lands gig on National Express advert

A glamorous mother-of-two with a big smile has become the face of a six-figure advertising campaign.

Published
Sunev Wilson, the face of National Express West Midlands, with her daughters

Sunev Wilson, from Wolverhampton, was in the city centre when she was spotted by the National Express West Midlands marketing team who were doing research at the bus station.

She was asked what she thought of the bus service – and impressed the team so much they signed her up on the spot.

Josh Fitzsimons, the company’s senior marketing campaign manager, said: "When we saw the video of Sunev talking about the buses, we were blown away.

"She’s a natural on camera and the way she talks made us all chuckle. We just had to use the clip in our marketing campaign - and now it’s been seen by hundreds of thousands of people."

When she’s not on the school run with her daughters, Oxley born-and-bred Sunev uses public transport to get herself to singing and modelling assignments – she recently took part in a photoshoot for Channel 5’s The Gadget Show.

She also volunteers, helping out with teaching a dance class at her younger child’s school.

On her new-found local fame, she said: “It’s crazy, but good crazy. I didn’t even have my eyebrows on correctly that day - I can’t believe that now everyone’s going to see it.

"My friends have been really lovely and supportive. I’ve got loads of comments on Facebook and Instagram. I believe in giving everything a go - you never know what could happen."

Sunev’s girls are following in her footsteps and have started to do modelling jobs when they’re not at school.

“They’ve been in a fashion show in Birmingham. They love it. They’re very outgoing and confident. When I take a photo of them, the little one is like: ‘Mum, get my angles right.’ She’s just a ball of energy when she has an audience."

Sunev said older people often start up conversations with her little girl on the bus. "When you get on a bus early in the morning and there’s all the seniors on there, they are so friendly. I do enjoy speaking to them. You never know what’s going on in someone’s day – they could be lonely, their partners might be gone.

"When I was younger, we would just catch the bus to anywhere. When you’re lonely and bored, you can get together and just talk to people, or just sit and watch the world go by."

The company said her thoughts were shared by buses minister, Nusrat Ghani, who last month launched the government’s Loneliness Strategy, saying: "Transport has a vital role to play in tackling loneliness and bringing people together.

"Something as simple as a bus journey can put a smile on someone’s face."