Displaying items by tag: bbc

So TV has another presenter scandal story on its hands – Gregg Wallace.   The Presenter Studio trains presenters, and we work in TV so deal with a long list of presenters. So our own Gareth wanted to share his thoughts on where he feels the focus now needs to be placed…

When we coach our clients for TV we talk a lot about teamwork, kindness and the ability to take direction or to be produced.  That’s the presenter’s role.  And the presenters who have long careers, as a general rule simply are the nicest and easiest ones to work with.

But where our advice falls down is, we believe due to 2 things:  

1.     This is a freelance world.  Often a presenter is given very little feedback on how it’s going, or how it all went.  Often the last day of a shoot can be the last day for the team, or the producer who was dealing with the talent.  So we all move on.  We find our next job.  And we very rarely feedback on what might be improved.  And that feedback historically hasn’t always been welcomed or valued – what happened has simply been put in the past.  

2.     There’s very little guidance or advice given to presenters.   We are the only business of our kind.  We help presenters understand the industry, how it all works, and how they need to behave in order to be successful.   So very often presenters (and other members of the team) pick up bad habits.  They are rarely nurtured.  There’s no HR team.  It’s no one’s job to be a presenter’s mentor.   And so the problem simply continues.  

So much more needs to be done in TV to make EVERYONE understand that good work practice is crucial to success.  There needs to be time for feedback – reintroduce the week’s clear up at the end of a series.  Give feedback to the presenter’s agent at the end of a series about how it REALLY went, rather than sending the usual after series gift set from Jo Mallone.  There’s a bigger and wider issue here, and as an industry we need to find a solution and not just when a big story like this explodes.  

Our co-MD Gareth worked with Mel on the BBC One Saturday hit music series Pitch Battle, BBC One. There was a long list of guest judges he also produced from Jermaine Jackson to Joe Jonas to Gareth Malone.  

Did you watch Francesca Martinez on Question Time?   

Her impassioned answer to Fiona Bruce’s question has gone viral.  So why did her answer engage and touch so many of us?  The reason is it was ‘personal’.  So many debates and speeches lack personal content – we all know people buy people, so where is there so much corporate jargon?  

Francesca’s personal story brings a problem to life.  All of a sudden what she has to say can’t be ignored as we can see and hear from someone who is part of the problem, and this makes it all the more real.  But it wasn’t just what Francesca said on the BBC’s Question Time that connected with people, it was how she said it.  She spoke from the heart.  Her answer was passionate, and passion goes a long way.  If you are passionate about something it’s hard for the viewer not to be too.  

Her passion made her message so much more engaging, and you instantly felt a connection and an understanding of what Francesca was saying.   

We should all learn something from Francesca’s time on Question Time – not only from what she said, but how she made a forgotten problem now a big topical issue – from being personal and passionate.  

Well done Francesca…. 

Gareth first cast Sisco as one of the judges on the UK version of So You Think You Can Dance.  He was an unknown to the BBC and went on to present shows for CBBC, ITV and abroad.  We loved working with him!  

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