The RTS Bursary Scheme enables you come face to face with some of the most widely respected figures in UK TV, either through personal mentorship, or invites to RTS Conventions, Patrons’ Dinner and networking events. In the last year, our scholars have met the CEOs of media companies, the writers of their favourite shows and even David Beckham, but as guest speaker Bella Roberts points out, sometimes you just need to speak to someone going through it just like you.

Bella has built her success on TikTok and Instagram, with over 500k followers on both platforms, an audience she has amassed through sharing her love for editing. In recent years, after leaving university, her content has focused on getting her foot in the door, and all the feelings and setbacks that come along with it. From being a runner in a post-production house, to being an editorial trainee on Netflix hit Adolescence, Bella has managed to find her footing in an industry facing a jobs crisis. This is the journey many of the RTS Bursary Scholars are about to embark on - and although over 80% of scholars find employment in TV and related industries after graduating from the scheme, it’s still a nerve-wracking world to navigate.

That’s just how Bella kicked off the session, telling the RTS scholars about the realities of struggling to get a job: “I didn’t think I’d get in [to the industry] because I’d been rejected so many times… and then I got an interview!” Bella started as a runner for unscripted at Picture Shop, telling our scholars not to write off beginning your TV journey making tea and coffee: “My coffee allowed that producer to work for longer, so in my very small way, me making a coffee contributed to that show. If you think about it that way, it's not a hospitality job.”

In the same way, Bella warned against treating that early work lightly - “if you’re moody and you don’t bring the energy it ripples upwards and downwards.” Like our bursary scholars, Bella didn’t enter the industry through family connection but maintains making contacts can be your greatest asset. In a section entitled “how to network like a boss” Bella took scholars step by step through forging industry relationships. For Bella, networking often starts with looking at the credits of shows she’s loved. From there, she finds an IMDB, and an email or social account to get in contact. In fact, you should “study their IMDB like the bible.” If they accept your invite for a coffee that’s fantastic, but don’t get your hopes up: “If you go into networking thinking ‘I’m going to get a job out of it’ that’s just not realistically going to happen.”

If these relationships are maintained, however, they might think of you the next time a suitable job comes up, and get you in the room for an interview.

Bella continues: “most of the time, as a trainee or a runner, they're not hiring you for the skills because you haven't got the skills yet. They're hiring you because they want to know that you're cool to work with, that you have a good personality.”

After working as a runner in unscripted, Bella decided to take the plunge and work as a freelancer in scripted TV - a gamble she can now say has paid off.

Bella closed the session by urging the scholars to keep creating, no matter the opportunities you receive in the workforce itself. “If you’re editing, edit every day, if you want to be a writer, write everyday… If you sit and wait for things to happen, it just won’t!”

If you have at least two years left of university study, and are from a lower income background, you might be eligible for the RTS Bursary Scheme. In addition to networking opportunities and sessions with people like Bella, scholars also receive £1,500 per academic year and a personal industry mentor. The scheme is open for applications until 24 June 2025.