This little Derry girl somehow found herself in the wonderful world of CBBC talking to Mr Trumble, sending children Blue Peter badges, and making the ‘Here’s one I made earlier’? this summer. This feels like a fever dream, but somehow it’s been my reality. Out of the blue, I found myself on the set of the world’s longest-running children’s television show as a Studio Runner for 4 weeks this summer, and boy did I love it! But how did I chance my luck and end up here? Let me take you back to April 2023.
“A one-way ticket to Manchester, please!”
Feeling a bit lost about the future, I found myself craving something exciting for my placement module. I wanted to push myself beyond my comfort zone and experience the whirlwind that is television. At the height of the April deadline season, I took a chance.
I started searching my log of contacts, Twitter followers and LinkedIn networkers to try and find a way to find a contact in children’s television. There weren’t as many opportunities to work in children’s television here currently in Northern Ireland, so I really had to fight for a place across the water.
From this, I managed to reach out to the series producer of ‘Blue Peter’, the lovely Nicola Benham. I expressed my eagerness, experience, and drive to get experience in this area of television. As I nervously waited for confirmation (and also passed the time by watching CBBC every Friday like a big child ‘for research purposes’) I finally got the call to say that Nicola was able to facilitate this and my new chapter in the heart of Media City, Salford was about to begin!
This was the turning point of something truly special in my broadcasting career.
When reflecting back on my first day working on Blue Peter, I will be using Bou et al’s model of reflective process (1985).
I’ve decided on this method as it allows me to structure my thoughts coherently to delve into the strongest points of my work as well as elements of weakness, that encourages me to improve my skillset in the future.
“Reflection is an important human activity in which people recapture their experience, think about it, mull it over and evaluate it. It is this working with experience that is important in learning.” (Boud 1985)
This new job role was a complete blank canvas for me. I wasn’t yet completely sure of what the role of a runner did and I was eager to learn more.
“The runner is a position that, along with those on work placement and internships, is held up as a way of gaining experience and insights for breaking into the industry; it is also intricately interconnected with industry operating practices and strategic planning”. Ashton (2015).
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Boud’s first method of reflection is evaluating the experience. He promotes you to think how the sequence of events played out. In this example I will be analyzing my first day on set as a Studio Runner.
This was an experience that was a completely new world to me. Once I nervously stepped in the doors on my first day, I naively had no idea of what was just ahead of me.
On my first day, I nervously walked into the big doors of BBC broadcasting house in Salford.
I had never been in such a big, important workspace before. The building was designed with all the memories from my childhood. Images from television shows that gave me the comfort of feeling like I was in a safe place.
As I walked around I began to see that everyone around me looked important. All these people who walked like they were on a mission, carried themselves with confidence and fit into the crowd of business people. I, on the other hand, was standing sheepishly in the corner. Very much feeling out of place and worried that everyone around me was thinking that too.
It was important for me to arrive early and make a good impression. Especially in an environment that I was unfamiliar with. Once the producer had collected me from the reception my working day began. This was a Monday and the programme was broadcast live every Friday so we began fresh into pre-production.
A lot of this, for me, included meeting the team, getting my BBC laptop and receiving a handover from a colleague who had just finished his contract before me. This felt at first a bit overwhelming. As I looked at the handover I felt worried as I had never had any of these responsibilities before and I was didn’t want anyone to think I was out of my depth on my first day.
To conquer this, I decided to let my inquisitive brain take the floor. I asked loads of questions. I didn’t want to seem unprepared or as if I didn’t know what I was doing, however, I wanted to feel confident that I was starting the job correctly. This was mentally suggested by Davies and Sigtorsson (2013),
“One such soft skill, or asset, is to have enough social confidence to take on menial tasks without feeling diminished”.
A key skill to adapt when working in the creative industry. This confidence was received well and everyone in the office supported me in my learning with open arms.
In the afternoon I had a bit more belief in myself. I was given the responsibility of starting to dress the set with children’s artwork. This was great for me as one of my strongest skills is that I am naturally creative. It also presented an opportunity for me to take on a bit of personal responsibility, as I was completing this task on my own.
This was in a really big studio and I began to feel smaller when the presenters of the programme walked in.
I almost felt like I shouldn’t make eye contact with them. They were talent, the reason people watch the show and I was just a runner who was still navigating her place in all this.
I quickly realized this was not a good idea. The presenters had fully immersed themselves into the team as colleagues, just like us. I understood that being shy only caused them to feel uncomfortable that I hadn’t just acknowledged them. I realized going forward this was something in television I was going to have to get used to and understand that these celebrities are also people who are all working together, striving to produce the best program.
Overall, I really pushed myself out of my comfort zone on my first day and it paid off.
Between reading in on script reads, joining in on discussions within meetings, and asking to take on wider responsibilities; I started to feel really happy that I had put myself out there and didn’t hold myself back out of fear. I knew going forward that I was going to have to carry myself with confidence, just like all those employees at reception. This was going to be hard, but it was a challenge I was excited to take.
Reflection
In reflection, I felt really proud of myself for taking a risk and giving my all on my first day. However at times my imposter system got the better of me and I started to worry about whether everyone could feel my nerves too. I decided to get pasted this I would have to change the narrative in my head. I reminded myself that I showed up and gave my all to my role. This was a fast-paced environment with the responsibility of wanting to produce a successful world-renowned program.
I realized that I was part of a team and although I wanted to impress my producers, to show them what I was capable of, I started to learn a lot about my working style and the importance of teamwork. By nature, I am a very independent person but in reflection, I realized this was not a good skill to carry into working in television. I realized that working as a unit created a better program and also allowed me to network with potential future employers.
Most importantly, I realized that I could do this without being homesick. Being in Manchester filled me with a lot of anxiety orginally.
I didn’t know the area, I was worried about my safety and I didn’t have any friends going over. However, I didn’t let my mind get disheartened by fears. I took a huge risk and learned that change can really pay off. By taking this job I felt like I was beginning the first year of my professional life and I was no longer reliant on anyone.
This was just the beginning of proving I can reach for the stars!
“It is important not to give up at the first hurdle. It may be difficult to break into the media but if you have determination and drive.. you can create the career of your dreams.” Gregory (2008)
Outcomes
Overall the outcomes of working on this programme were extremely positive.
I started to learn how much I loved live television. I had never produced a live show before this and it made me realize this is the type of work I could see myself progressing into after graduating.
I also came home with a contact log full of connnections. Coming to work on time, with a positive attitude, to learning every day really showed my colleagues the type of attitude I had towards work.
In return, they gave me a list of networking opportunities and encouraged me to continue believing in myself, in what sometimes can feel like a very closed, isolating industry.
This is a vital skill and achievement to walk away with which is described by Cury (2017) as,
“The most significant networking usually means that you’ve been around long enough to have a large pool with whom to network. For students, the most advantageous way to get a foot in the door and to network”
Most importantly, I felt like I finished the day feeling like I was starting to make my footprint into my career in television. I knew that this was the beginning of something great and I understood the skills I needed to have to work successfully in this industry. I knew that I needed to be a jet setter, confident, and hardworking to really stand out. Skills that initially filled me with anxiety. However, finishing the day I understood proudly that I was capable of all these qualities, I just needed to believe in myself.
Finally, of course, most importantly I got a Blue Peter Badge. Don’t be too jealous!
Bibliography
Ashton, Daniel. “Making Media Workers: Contesting Film and Television Industry Career Pathways.” Television & New Media, vol. 16, no. 3, 2015.
Boud, David, et al. “Promoting Reflection in Learning: A Model.” Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning, 2013.
Cury, Ivan. Directing and Producing for Television: A Format Approach. 5th ed., vol. 1, Routledge, 2017
Gregory, Georgina, et al. Careers in Media and Film : The Essential Guide, SAGE Publications, Limited, 2008.
Rosamund Davies, and Gauti Sigthorsson. Introducing the Creative Industries : From Theory to Practice. SAGE Publications Ltd, 2013.