The RTS is delighted to announce that British television presenter AJ Odudu will be an Ambassador for the scheme, which will see her meeting and mentoring the scholars and attending bursaries events, as well as using her platform to highlight the importance of the RTS bursary schemes for up-and-coming talent in the television industry.
The dinner was combined with speeches from newly awarded RTS Fellows (an award offered to those who have offered outstanding contributions to the UK television industry). Amongst them were Succession creator Jesse Armstrong, and screenwriters Abi Morgan (The Split) and Jack Thorne (Best Interests). Meanwhile 100 past and present scholars were busy making valuable connections with each other, as well as the TV veterans.
Thirty-four were chosen for the TV Production and Journalism Bursary, including Amelia Nicola, who was awarded the Steve Hewlett Scholarship, and Cerys Horner, who won the Beryl Vertue Scholarship. The latter was introduced last year for a student with an interest in producing.
Ten scholars have received a Digital Innovation Bursary.
Theresa Wise, CEO of the RTS, said: “This year, we have received the highest number of applications to date.
In late June, Fremantle UK hosted the RTS’s annual summer networking session, welcoming past and present RTS Bursary scholars to their London office. Alongside their personal mentors, the attendees connected and exchanged contacts with each other and industry professionals.
The bursaries support young people from lower-income backgrounds who want to work in television. A total of 39 bursaries have been awarded across TV production and journalism, technology, and the Steve Hewlett scholarship programme.
“Receiving a bursary from the RTS isn’t just representative of the financial backing, but of the opportunity to be a part of an industry-recognised community of like-minded people,” said Evan Taylor, who studies film at the University of Westminster.
Currently, he is the general manager of inventory and partnerships at global technology company The Trade Desk and took time out of his bustling schedule to talk to our bursary students.
With two strands to the RTS Bursary scheme – TV Production/Broadcast Journalism and Technology – Castell was a good choice of speaker to engage with both the creative and technically minded students.
“It’s all a bit of a mess, really,” says Charlotte Humphreys. “I was living in south London, which had the most cases of Covid-19 in the UK, so I packed some of my most important stuff into Ikea bags and left.
“I’m paying £700 a month for a room I’m not living in, my stuff is at four different addresses and I’m staying with my Dad, who has a terminal lung condition. I bought a car, an absolute banger, for £275, because I need to get shopping for my Dad.”
2019 sees the RTS offering more than double the number of bursaries compared to the number at launch in 2014.
This year, the list of eligible courses was substantially expanded and for the first time the RTS invited applications from students studying a ScreenSkills accredited higher national diploma. For 2019, 35 bursaries for Television Production and Broadcast Journalism students and eight bursaries for Technology students have been awarded.
My week starts the way it has done most Mondays for the past three years – sitting in a university library. There’s one big difference. At this time of year, there is a veil of calm. The underlying current of stress has dissipated. It’s a big change from the tensions of exam season a month ago.
Chairs stand unoccupied and academic books are tossed aside. I am finally on my last chapter. This one is entitled “The real world of television”.
Addressing the students and mentors, RTS Education Chair Graeme Thompson said: “You are part of a thriving project, which is making a difference to representation in the TV and screen industry. We fervently believe that we reach the parts that others in the industry can’t reach – and that’s fantastic for the diversity of our industry.”
