I worked for 12 months unpaid, knocking on every production companies door I could find. I began in factual TV, and commercials, before meeting people from drama, and the rest is history.
Some of the recent projects I have worked on include Ackley Bridge, Anne Boleyn, Peaky Blinders and All Creatures Great and Small.
Anytime we have access to a location that is unique or private, where we get to explore places others can’t. Courts, stately homes, prisons, they all make the job a little more magical.
The biggest challenges are when things go wrong. Power cuts, difficult locations, challenging crew and cast (can I say that?), but the main thing with this industry is that we never quit, and we will get there, no matter what is thrown at us.
Say yes to everything, you never know where it will lead. Some of the opportunities I turned down, turned out to be my biggest regrets.
Ackley Bridge S4 © Channel4
There is more work now than ever, the rates for ADs have drastically improved, and so has the welfare of our crews. The north is no longer where people come to make “cheap TV”, but where producers search for beautiful locations.
Unlike London, every one knows each other. There isn’t a job I go one where I haven’t worked with most of the crew before. We have a much closer relationship with each other, and always help each other out, to ensure all the northern crews get the northern jobs.