BSc Social Anthropology, LSE, 2006
Assistant Producer, BBC
Career so far
LSE Students' Union, General Secretary (2006-2007)
Production Trainee, BBC (2008-2010)
Assistant Producer, BBC (2010)
How did you choose your career?
I’ve loved watching television from a young age so it was a fairly easy choice. I attended the Edinburgh TV Festival as part of a talent scheme called TVYP (now The Network) when I was 18, which really inspired me to go for it. I met a Channel Five journalist who helped get me my first bit of work experience and it went from there.
Why did you choose to join the BBC?
I was lucky enough to get a place on the BBC Production Trainee Scheme. It has kick-started the careers of many BBC bigwigs, including the outgoing Director General Mark Thompson. It's 18 months of top training, mentoring and four placements across the BBC. So I couldn't really say no.
What did LSE teach you?
I was really involved with the Students' Union while at LSE, which brought me a wealth of experiences - from introducing electronic voting as SU General Secretary to organising and chairing a Question Time-style debate on the Olympics. These experiences definitely helped me test my confidence, organisational skills and how to deal with different types of people.
Has LSE given you different skills?
It's hard to pinpoint any particular differences as university is so much about what you take from it!
What’s your current role and what are you expected to achieve?
I'm an Assistant Producer, working on Newsround - the BBC's news programme aimed at children. I cover stories for our 50 bulletins across the week and for our interactive website. For TV this can involve writing presenter scripts, editing clips, shooting footage; for online it can mean writing stories, creating photo galleries, making interactive quizzes... We cover everything from Syria to One Direction.
Your most significant achievement?
I pitched an idea and won a commission from The Culture Show at last year's Edinburgh TV Festival. It was to make a film about Free Art Friday, a global movement of artists that leave work out on the streets for anyone to take home for free.
Your most challenging task?
The first time I self-shot/directed a report was a big challenge. It was a night time shoot – a sleepover at the Natural History Museum with 200 kids wandering around the dinosaurs in the dark!
The best and worst aspects of the job?
The best aspect of my job is the variety. One day I'm working on a story about The Wanted making it in America, the next I'm covering an explosion in Afghanistan. What I least like is probably the time pressure – often you'll only have a few hours to put together a report, but that's the nature of news!
How do you see your career progressing?
Advice from people at the top seems to be that it's good to diversify your career, so I'd like to work on something longer form than news, such as a documentary, or maybe a big live entertainment series...
What makes you good at your job?
Some colleagues have said that I have attention to detail and I manage to keep calm - but it never feels that way!
What are the top skills that graduates should develop at LSE?
I think it's ideas that matter most when it comes to working in television. That and the ability to work and communicate with a wide range of people - you could be setting up an interview with a sheep farmer, or trying to convince some middleaged ballerinas to dance on live TV.
Any advice for LSE students wanting a career in your organisation or line of work?
Start making your own content - blog, tweet, post videos on YouTube, write for The Beaver, film stuff for LooSE TV. Do anything that shows you have a passion for creating. A good grasp of general knowledge is useful, but having a few specialist interests can help make you stand out, which is where an LSE social science degree could come in useful. Email editors/executive producers of programmes you want to work on - send them some ideas, ask if you can come in and shadow for a day or afternoon. My sixth form paper won a Guardian Student Media Award so I called up one of the judges, who then arranged some work experience for me. That led to my first national newspaper article!