BCOMS North Masterclass covering the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Elle-Sue Calderbank, Katie Catherall and Ali Hussain had the opportunity to work as runners at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Below they shared their experience of working at one of the biggest sporting events of the year.
Elle-sue Calderbank
Working at SPOTY this week was an amazing experience. I worked as a runner for presenters; Alex Scott, Gary Lineker, Clare Balding, and Gabby Logan, along with assisting the production teams.
As someone who aspires to go into presenting/reporting in the future, it was great to meet the presenters and share with them my aspirations for the future. It gave me a huge insight into the work that goes into presenting from seeing firsthand the preparation that is put into the production of the show; from creating questions for specific athletes to practicing the way in which you present to your audience.
I made many connections from my three days at SPOTY and I look forward to continuing this work in the future!
Katie Catherall
It was a genuinely incredible experience working on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, meeting so many talented people within the BBC Sport and Dock10 teams and gaining further insight into the production world. Being a runner for inspirational presenters like: Alex Scott, Gabby Logan, Clare Balding and Gary Lineker, was an exciting job and I was beyond proud to represent the BBC in this way. I’ve watched SPOTY every single year, I love this show so to be offered the chance to work on it was mind-blowing.
I mean, a celebration of sport, what’s not to love?
I was choking back tears whilst watching Kevin Sinfield, Rob Burrows and their families on stage, I truly felt connected after listening to their compelling stories, and have followed Kevin’s fundraising efforts for a while.
The Lionesses have truly changed the way a nation views women’s football, and for that they deserve every possible accolade, to see them win Team of the Year, was something really special. These women are motivational, whether you’re into football or not, their passion makes you strive to be the best version of yourself.
Thank you so much to BCOMS for this unfathomable opportunity. If someone would’ve told 5 year old me that I’d be doing things like this, she’d have never believed them.
Ali Hussain
I found the BBC Sport Personality of the Year so amazing and inspirational, it has pushed me to work harder in the future. Knowing that I was trusted to carry out big tasks which directly affected the live show was momentous and humbling for me, it filled me with gratitude to know that people of big stature put their trust in me and my co-runners. The best part about the whole experience was meeting new people who I learned a lot from. I also loved getting to know my co-runners a little better, which was fun and I got to learn from them as well. Of course interacting with the celebrities was also truly astonishing. I would like to thank Tom and everyone at BCOMS for the unforgettable experience!
