Walking onto the set of BBC Watchdog in Television Centre in 1997 was daunting.
As a Junior Clerk my job was simple – do whatever anyone asks and do it well.
It was always fast paced and often last minute – as you would expect when producing a live, weekly, consumer affairs programme for BBC1.
As I moved up the ranks to Researcher, Assistant Producer and finally Producer/Director there were a handful of people who took the time to teach me the skills I continue using today.
Matt Allwright is the best scriptwriter I’ve ever worked with.
- Where I used 20 words, he could say it in 10.
- Where I struggled with structuring a 5 minute film, he knew the narrative before I’d put pen to paper.
- Where I battled to make broken washing machines look sexy – he always had a clever, and often funny, treatment.
Producing programmes for a BBC1 audience meant making every word count and finding an engaging way to keep viewers interested.
I use those same skills every day, helping clients communicate in a crisis which ironically, is often triggered by a call from BBC Watchdog.
And I think it’s fair to say that Matt Allwright and I continue to learn from each other to this day.