This blog entry was delayed by three weeks until I was officially allowed to talk about the series. I wrote it at the time, but didn’t publish it.
I found out last night I’ve got my own TV series for ITV1. I’m gobsmacked. I’ve always wanted my own series, with the freedom to talk about the stuff I’m passionate about. Plus of course, its great for my career.
It was a funny way to find out. I went for a quick drink with Stephen Andrew the Commissioning Editor (off-peak) for ITV1, for a general discussion. The production company for the programme itself, ‘Make Me Rich’ had already told me it’d made it through the process and had finished ‘audience testing’, but we’d been told the report wouldn’t be ready for another two weeks.
Anyway I sat down for the drink (at a pub in Ealing) and he said ‘oh before I forget, we’ve decided to commission Make me Rich, you’ve got your own series, congratulations’. Boy does that take the wind out of your sails. I tried to have a conversation, but inside was going ‘woooooo hoooooo, yesssssssssss’. After about 20 minutes he went to the bar to buy another drink (I was on the cranberry juice, as I was driving) and I sneakily got out my mobile phone to text my dad and let him know. Quickly shutting it off again afterwards.
As for the practicals, I don’t know all yet. The programme is a 45 minute money makeover programme for daytime, which’ll be half about ‘cutting your bills without cutting back’, and half about ‘cutting back where necessary’ and we’ll be looking for families. (P.S. it wasn’t my choice of title, the idea is not me promising to make people rich, but people asking me to make them rich. It’s a good title for TV, but of course I’m really about saving people money so they have more to spend than actually making them rich).
As for when we’ll start, who knows. It’s all a bit daunting, as I already work a good 70/80 hours a week, and I have no idea how i’ll fit it in, but what the hell – woooooooooooo hoooooooooooooo!
Click here for more details and how to get a makeover
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