As part of the wider Learning the Ropes Mentoring Programme, we are delighted that that the nation’s favourite daily weekday show This Morning hosted by Dermot and Alison Hammond on Fridays is kindly supporting the programme in a number of ways including inviting all the mentors on a shadow running shift as well as getting insider behind the scenes tips and advice from the team behind the production process giving real insight into how a show like this is made. First up on the This Morning Sofa were Mentees Derrick Ochere - author of this blog post and Siobhan Carty.
“Okay, going live in 10… 3, 2, 1.”
The countdown comes through on the headset I’ve been kitted with. It’s a design unfamiliar to me before today, with a singular earphone for receiving production chatter in one ear, allowing me to keep an ear out – literally and figuratively – to what’s happening all around me backstage, as the This Morning show rolls in to action live before me.
When I arrive at reception, I come into initial contact with the village when I’m greeted by Josh, a jovial Australian who works as a runner for the show. He whisks me through a corridor, its walls lined with the smiling portraits of This Morning presenters past and present, like legends immortalised in a shrine. But over the course of the morning, I witness how the team is far from hierarchical, and rather a community of talented individuals committed to creating a brilliant show.
We arrive at the production office, a homely space where two dozen people are at work or engaged in friendly conversation. Josh gives me a rundown of the agenda and an overview of the job roles you find here: researchers, line producers and production managers to name a few. I strike up a conversation with a production coordinator who explains the ins and outs of her role to me, and we have a laugh as she recounts some of her favourite famous faces to have graced the studio and her passing interactions with them.
When we’re joined by Siobhan, a fellow mentee, Josh leads us to the set of This Morning ahead of the show’s start. Making our way there, we walk along the perimeter of the large studio grounds which has high walls erected which section off the sets. Through an opening in a wall, I steal a passing glance at Good Morning Britain where Kate Garraway and Rob Rinder have just wrapped up their show. I’m amazed by how much activity happens on this one ground.
We finally arrive on the set of This Morning, where all the magic happens. I take in the décor surrounding me, making the most of this vantage point that I’ve been afforded. Having seen the set in two-dimensional for so long, a three-dimensional experience feels sobering and surreal. It is grand in person. I run my eyes over the familiar teal coloured sofa and the digital backdrop showcasing the Southbank, with boats trailing along the Thames.
Then I eye elements of the set hidden from the show’s viewers: thick wires snaking in all directions along the polished hard wood floor. Enormous cameras being operated by men in black. Multiple overhead lights throwing beams of white tones. The set seems exposed and naked, like a private place that I shouldn’t be seeing. It betrays the fantasy, but the reality is a welcome perspective shift.
I’m introduced to Fred, a friendly production assistant who alongside Josh has been assigned to look after Siobhan and I. He gives us a whistlestop tour of the studios, where we get to see the discreet entrance where talent comes through, the large theatre space where the Graham Norton show is filmed and the floor where props are held. We also pop into the guest, make-up, art and wardrobe rooms. I feel like an expanding sponge, soaking up all that these new sights have to offer.
We briefly head back to the production office where I’m kitted with a handheld radio and headset. I start to feel like an official member of the team, especially when the radio flickers to life and I’m granted access to the production chatter. Whilst Siobhan is paired with Josh, I’m paired with Fred to shadow the art department. We run through a document on his iPad which details the running order of the show and the tasks across production. I’m impressed by how meticulous it all is; there are time stamps that pinpoint actions by the second.
When we’re backstage again, I admiringly watch Dermot and Alison kick the show off. I’m struck by the five large cameras intensely honed in on them, and the watchful production crew in the background. From my ‘at-home viewer’ lens It seems invasive and encroaching. From my ‘TV creative’ lens it feels supportive, essential and reassuring, and my mind reconciles the two.
I half-expect backstage to require total silence whilst the show is airing live, so I’m pleasantly surprised that the production crew are engaged in chit-chat and banter whilst working – all at a respectful volume. I’m introduced to Katy, the lovely floor manager, who at one point gestures for me to join her on the set behind the cameras. I tentatively tip toe on, avoiding the snaking wires, and position myself next to her. My imagination runs and I hope that Alison and Dermot aren’t distracted by the sight of my bright ginger afro towering before them (hah!) but I’m sure they’ve seen all manner of quirks over the years, and the production team wasn’t short of some visible ones themselves.
I meet a bubbly lady who has worked as Dermot’s make-up artist for over twenty years. During our conversation, she echoes a sentiment that I’ve heard several times already since starting the mentoring programme:
“Being nice goes a long way in this industry.”
And I see this sentiment being put to action all around me. The camaraderie is palpable and genuine. The environment is fast paced, but everything is done in a spirit of community, which creates a good energy about the place.
Like a fish joining a rapidly moving stream of water, I jump in and get hands on: Running to the prop room to bring down a box of foam balls for the filming of the competition segment. Arranging mats on the floor during the break. Clearing some craters backstage. Wheeling a table of fresh spring berries on to the set for the next segment. It’s at this point that I wish I had eaten more for breakfast.
Josh comes to whisk me away to shadow the production gallery for a short while. It’s a hive of activity, with two dozen people sat in front of computer monitors and wearing headsets, exchanging instructions in quick succession. Multiple monitors cover the north wall, which reminds me of control rooms you see in spy movies. It provides me a window not only into what’s happening on the set from different vantage points, but also other guests from various locations across the country, standing by for their segment. It feels cerebral and alien-like, like I’m in the mothership of the show’s production. I silently watch them work away, fascinated.
The time feels like it has gone quickly as the show wraps up. Siobhan and I come on to the set, where we mingle with Dermot and Alison (By this point, Alison and I have hugged at least three times - she gives the nicest hugs), and we usher in the Friday feels by having a dance. Their energy is even more infectious in person. As an aspiring children’s TV presenter it was an honour for me to see them in action, and get tips from them on how they perform a perfect dance together in the way they present and interview guests.
I have come away from the experience feeling enlightened and encouraged. There are many roles in TV production that I wasn’t familiar with beforehand, and as someone transitioning into the industry, it was important for me to see the mechanics of it all up close. It has reinforced the respect I have for all the talent behind the scenes who we wouldn’t have great shows without. I’m grateful to have been given this opportunity through Dermot’s Tuskar Trust mentoring programme and I look forward to more insightful experiences ahead. Next stop: TV bootcamp!