Lizzie Gillett
From Local TV Reporter to Hit Documentary Producer
Blagged work experience at Local TV Station. Interviewed the Dean of the Cathedral about his controversial sacking / quitting over the boys' choir on first day. Within the week I'd been given a Proper Job as a reporter and loved finding, reporting, shooting, editing, and scripting 3 stories a day.
Ross, the very inspiring and slightly scary boss, wanted to start a sports show. I was the sportiest person working at the station (not saying much) so was the natural candidate for the job.
"The Score" was my one hour weekly sports show. It wasn't your usual Sports Show as ballet, wheelchair basketball, and 5 year olds swimming were given equal prominence with All Blacks' victories.
The upshot of all this small town success was little old me heading for London expecting to get a job Directing Panorama at the Beeb. Ah, yes well. That didn't quite happen (thankfully now but painfully humbling at the time) and I got a job as a secretary.
In one year I applied for 300 jobs. Didn't get one of them. Finally got a month of unpaid volunteering at the Beeb (I was a bit obsessed w that institution coming from the Colonies) which I thought was my lucky break. Turned out to be opening mail in a stationary cupboard with 8 other lucky wannabes on the Watchdog show.
Read Franny Armstrong's article in The Guardian. Got last tickets (probably not true but adds to the story so taking artistic licence) to Premiere of Drowned Out. Cried. Thought it was Best Doc Ever. So profound and brilliant on so many levels.
Stalked Franny on the internet. Began volunteering for Spanner Films in Sept 2002. After about a month I started working for Franny, though we didn't have enough for me to be fulltime so I had another job to stay afloat. Worked for two years promoting McLibel and Drowned Out, then Franny took me on as the Co-Producer of The Age of Stupid (then called Crude) and my life was happily taken over by the Stupid beast (then name Crude).
