As soon as I left school I started work in television. PSTV was a small indie company in Wakefield but we did a lot of work for the BBC in London. Being the bright-eyed sixteen year old I dove straight into the work and just a year and a half later that I was directing a light entertainment show for ITV. I still worked on many of the BBC productions as well and was often meeting up with colleagues/friends at television centre.
When Blue Peter were looking for a new presenter, a friend of mine who worked in Children’s Acquisitions said I should apply. It was September 1997 and I was filming the Halloween special of What’s On in Whitby North Yorkshire; so while we were there I filmed my own demo for Blue Peter.
I uploaded it to Facebook last week for #ThrowbackThursday and seeing it again after all these years, I’m surprised at how good it was. Unfortunately back in the 90s, the BBC didn’t want people with accents. Obviously that all changed a few years later, but I remember having elocution lessons just so I could answer the phone in case the BBC called. Of course my northern accent was still prevalent even after these few lessons so maybe that was the reason I didn’t get cast – or maybe I looked too chavvy? Who knows!
Here’s the video so you can see for yourself. But be kind, I was only eighteen at the time.
#TerryGee