What’s your role at MultiStory?
I am a Line Producer, which essentially is a Senior Production Manager. I tend to get allocated to the larger productions within the department. I look after the logistical and budget side of programmes, both being developed and in production.
What made you want to get into TV and how did you make that a reality?
Going to the London Studios as a 16 year old on a Saturday morning to watch CD:UK got me into TV. I desperately wanted to be one of the crew with a headset and clipboard. I had no idea that I would eventually spend almost 8 years working in that building on the South Bank, something I am incredibly proud of!! I studied at Drama school in London, most of my friends went into the backstage West-End world but I persisted and made it into telly!
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
I have had many highlights – I have been incredibly lucky to travel across the world, and worked with so many unbelievably talented people – both on screen and off! Filming in the Etosha National Park in Namibia is pretty high on the list, plus the reaction we got from the first series of Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs, which was epic!
What was your biggest “pinch me’ moment
Again, so many to choose from. But I would say winning a National Television Award (at the first awards show you’d ever been to), walking up on stage and being name checked by Paul O’Grady in front of the nation really shines out. It was a great night!!
Are there any big learning curves or disaster moments you can look back and laugh about now?
Back in the olden days, when we still shot things on tape, I was put in charge of collecting all the studio rushes from the OB truck on a really huge show that had cost millions of pounds to put on. It wasn’t live so everything we shot was on a stack of tapes. As I started to descend the steps from the truck, I tripped, fell, and dropped the entire show’s footage on a concrete floor. You could have heard the gasps of shock from the other side of London. In that moment my entire career flashed before my eyes, I was convinced that was it for me. Thankfully, somehow, all the tapes survived the fall and the show was fine. Even so, I had nightmares about it for weeks….
What are your favourite TV shows?
I have a very eclectic taste in TV shows – Ru Paul’s Drag Race is a definite favourite, Benidorm (currently watching for the second time round on Netflix), anything with Rick Stein in it, news and current affairs, and The Crown.