By Kelly Phelps, PR Student

My search for a placement was a long one. I spent a huge amount of time applying for jobs and went through six different interviews. Luckily, in March 2013, UKTV popped up and I was provided with the opportunity to carry out my 12 month placement in their Communications team.

UKTV is a multi-channel television provider in the UK. They have ten fantastic channels; Dave, Watch, Gold, Really, Alibi, Eden, Home, Good Food, Drama and Yesterday, and have a large number of awards to their name too! Dynamo: Magician Impossible and David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities are just some of the exciting programmes that UKTV have commissioned.

So, on 3^rd June 2013, I stepped into the office. Bare in mind, this is an office like no other. All meeting rooms are branded to the different channels and everyone works on one floor. That’s 250 people! Safe to say it was quite a daunting experience but it was great to be able to meet literally everyone on my first day.

My role is the Communications Assistant for the team. I work closely with the Programme Information Manager and liaise with three Publicists, two Publicity Managers, the Internal and Corporate Communications team members and the Head of Communications. We are a close-knit team of ten, making it a great environment to work in.

Now, I don’t mean to brag, but I have been involved in some incredible events since I started. For example, in my first month I helped welcome guests to the launch of the new channel Drama. These guests included the one and only Sir David Jason.  Then in July, I welcomed VIP guests to a launch event that the team had put together for Dynamo: Magician Impossible series 3. This event was essentially a gig, where the likes of Nas and Iggy Azalea performed. My job was to provide the VIPs with a wristband to ensure they had the best access to the event. In doing this job, I was able to meet Rachel Stevens, David Haye, Scott Mills, Sophie Ellis Bexter and many more.

In September, we held our annual Showcase event at the Saatchi Gallery. The event is held for journalists to see what exciting new programmes we have coming up over the next 12 months, providing them with great interview opportunities with the talent. My role was to help Sky get interviews with Sir David Attenborough, Anthony Head, and Eve Myles from You, Me & Them. It was a frantically busy morning but an awesome experience! Everyone had a great time and we got some wonderful coverage for the new shows. Harry Enfield even acknowledged the fact that all he saw me do was run from one end of the gallery to the other.

Working at UKTV has really ignited my passion to work within the television industry as a Publicist. I’ve done silly things, like bought mackerel for Valentine Warner to have for breakfast, but I’ve done things I didn’t think I could do, like being an extra in Dave Gorman’s photoshoot. It’s amazing how quickly time flies when you are having fun!