More advice for newbies...

Back from my hols where I made the mistake of telling a Random Young Person I worked in tv. The RYP then asked me how to get into telly.

Now I've been here before - http://televisionsecrets.blogspot.com/2007/03/getting-started.html - but before I went into my shouty monologue verbally stamping on his face until he shut up, RYP then surprised me.

"F'r example, yeah?, why did ya hire other, like?, people to work for yer, yeah?"

Hmm. So I gave him five examples:-

HIRING #1
They had exactly the same favourite episode of The Simpsons as me ( http://televisionsecrets.blogspot.com/2007/06/final-thought-on-comedy.html ) - 'nuff said;

HIRING #2
Their CV said their hobbies included “drawing the strange images that flash across my mind”. This was the only thing I remembered about the twenty people I interviewed that entire day so, in a fit of desperation, he got it the job;

HIRING #3
She was a girl. Now before the sexism police put me away, it was job that way back then only men seemed to do. My entire team was male. My new hiring stopped their continual stream of shitty blokeish banter in its tracks, and made the place better for everyone;

HIRING #4
The guy came in wearing a hat. A Fedora hat;

HIRING #5
I was on holiday inbetween series and I returned to find six people hired in my absence, including a fat spotty sweaty mute man, a bitter shouting Welshman, a far-too-tall posh bloke who was already asking for more money before I sat down and a flailing gibbon of a man who appeared to possess six arms and four legs.

--

And you know what? Simpsons Guy is now a really good mate of mine. Strange Images Guy ran a channel. The Girl One was excellent and has worked with me forever. The Holiday Hirings were the weirdest bunch of people I’ve ever worked with but ended up making a terrible show into something rather good.

Only the Hat Man was a mistake. He was on the run from the CSA, wanted to be paid in cash and slept under his desk. He went to Alaska in the end, I believe. With a warmer hat I hope.

TV SECRET:
THE REASONS SOMEONE IN TV MIGHT HIRE YOU ARE EVEN MORE RANDOM THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE

As you can imagine, the Randon Young Person didn't really say much to all this. Mind you, that was because he was distracted. We were in St Tropez next to some yachts and some James-Bond-villian-type one turned up so RYP ran off to see who was on it. And, yes, it was a celeb. That Australian pap photographer Darren Thing with amusing hair. Sigh.