What’s your role at MultiStory?
Production Secretary – hoping to move into a Production CoOrdinator role soon!
What made you want to get into TV and how did you make that a reality?
I first started working at MultiStory in 2018 as the Talent Team Assistant, as part of the ITV apprenticeship scheme. The role was a complete career change for me as I’d spent the last ten years working in the hospitality industry- for the most part as a General Manager. I quit my job in 2017 and took the better part of the next year off, did some travelling, spent time catching up on life, and re-evaluating what I wanted from my new career. TV & Film production had always been an interest of mine but always seemed like one of those jobs that I would never realistically have. I mean how do you even get a job in TV? I started doing my research, focusing on entry level roles. It was whilst doing this that I stumbled across a job advert for the ITV apprenticeship scheme. There were a number of different roles across the UK but the only one that interested me was the Talent Team Assistant role with Multistory Media (formerly Shiver.) I was skeptical at first about applying as I had always thought Apprenticeships were for school leavers or ‘young’ people. I decided to take a chance and apply anyway, afterall “nothing ventured, nothing gained!” Luckily for me, my initial application was successful and I got through to the first stages – the Assessment day! I should have been nervous but strangely I remember going into the ITV offices on my assessment day and feeling really calm – I think I still didn’t really believe that I stood a chance of getting the job. Especially when I realised I was at least 10 years older than a lot of the other applicants!! Nonetheless I was determined to try my best and get the most of the opportunity! I ended up being shortlisted to the final interview stage before being offered the job. Turns out my previous experience and skillset- was actually one of the contributing factors to my securing the role, not a hindrance as I had feared! Which just goes to show that you don’t need to be a school leaver, have a degree or experience to get a job in TV. Sometimes you just need to grab onto the opportunities that come your way and make the most of them!
What’s the biggest hurdle you’ve had to overcome to get to where you are?
Working in TV is a second career for me, having spent 10 years working in hospitality. So moving industries from a senior role in Hospitality to a junior, entry level role in TV was something I feared would be challenging for many reasons. However the transition was a lot easier than anticipated and working in talent at Multistory Media gave me the opportunity to have a varied experience across different productions.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
My favourite genre is Crime- literature, film, TV etc. In summer of 2020 I had the opportunity to work on the documentary The Real Des: A Dennis Nilsen Story. I thoroughly enjoyed my time working on the programme and it also gave me a sense of what the next step in my career would be like as I was able to take on many of the tasks a Production CoOrdinator would normally handle. I’m hugely proud to have been a small part of the team that made The Real Des! It’s been a real highlight for me!
What was your biggest “pinch me’ moment?
In 2020 I worked on an ITV studios entertainment special – Gary Barlow’s Night At The Museum with musical guests Beverley Knight, Alfie Boe, Ronan Keating amongst others. Growing up in the 90’s I was completely obsessed with Take That and Boyzone! So working on that show and especially watching Gary and Ronan perform from their duet from the wings in the Natural History Museum was a real WOW moment! A dream come true for 10 year old me!!!!!
Are there any big learning curves or disaster moments you can look back on and laugh about now?
I began my career in TV whilst doing an Apprenticeship, so finding the right balance between my role as Talent Assistant, getting all my apprenticeship work done and also taking on a number of other opportunities & roles within Multistory did prove challenging at times. However I do also recognise how lucky I was too. I was able to work on a lot of different shows as a runner – All Star Musicals, Peston, Martin Lewis Money Show, Piers Morgan Life Stories, Big Flower Fight amongst others. I was able to contribute to the label’s social media content, helped with the label rebrand from Shiver and even filled in for a few weeks as PA to CEO Tim Carter and CCO Ana De Moraes which provided a great insight into the inner workings of MultiStory Media. It all worked out as I ended up passing my Apprenticeship with distinction and secured my first role as Production Secretary!
I haven’t really had any big disasters but working on the Pride Of Britain Awards 2020 was certainly a learning curve- especially given the challenges of 2020 and because of the amount of child licenses that were required at such short notice!!! One of the more challenging tasks that I was asked to do was to find some ‘ordinary’ key workers to be a part of the opening sequence for the show. Turnaround on this was extremely tight and I was only able to confirm that we would actually have contributors to film with the day before the shoot and even then there was the worry as to whether or not we would be able to get what we needed on the day! Between driving around with the crew to shoot the necessary sequences – not knowing what awaited us at each location and stalling in the production hire car…. twice!! It definitely proved to be one of the more stressful shoots I’ve ever been on! Luckily our Director was really happy with the contributors we had and seeing them all shine in the Pride of Britain opening sequence made it all worth it!
What are your favourite TV shows?
Before working at MultiStory Media, amongst some of my favourite TV shows genuinely were Come Dine With Me, Paul O’Grady For the Love of Dogs and Pride of Britain. It’s still amazing to me that I’ve now worked on all of them! I also love binge watching a good comedy or drama series, some recent favourites include Black Summer, The Queen’s Gambit and Superstore.