presenting

Anita Rani and Ade Adepitan give advice on how to make it as a presenter

“Don’t hold back,” advised the disabled basketball Paralympic medallist speaking at an RTS Futures webinar.

Adepitan said that he had got into TV by luck: “I didn’t go to uni, I went to the university of life.” His first job in TV was working for a cable station, which, in the early 1990s, was looking for a wheelchair-bound basketball player to appear on screen. 

Initially he declined their invitation, but when the station offered him £250 for the gig he seized the chance.

Meet the agent for disabled talent

Actor and model Grace Mandeville is represented by VisABLE

Having previously owned the largest modelling agency outside of London, Dyson was approached by a manufacturer of mobility equipment, who was looking for wheelchair users to model its products. Together, they launched a modelling competition, receiving over 600 entries and international press interest. The agency has grown and now represents more than 80 actors, presenters and models.

Why did you decide to set up VisABLE?

The ultimate professional: Fiona Bruce

Fiona Bruce (Credit: BBC)

Whoever replaced national treasure David Dimbleby as host of BBC flagship Question Time faced a daunting prospect. Having fronted the show for an age-defying 25 years, he cast a long shadow, and there was intense pressure on the corporation to pick someone who wouldn’t be overpowered by the role.

Fiona Bruce was regarded in some quarters as an unlikely choice to succeed such an iconic broadcasting heavyweight. Viewers didn’t have to wait long for her baptism of fire.

Presenter Chris Stark shares his secrets to success

When he was offered two days a week on the Scott Mills Show in 2012, he did everything in his power to get noticed. “I would turn up at 8.30 and stay all day and help wherever I could, no one asked me to leave!” 

He has since gone on to become a household name on Radio 1 and has carved out an exciting career with fresh and interesting content for the station. “Try and find a way of being yourself which inherently will make you different,” he explains.  

Get into TV: Presenter Laura Jackson tells her story

Laura Jackson presenting a recent RTS Futures event (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

It was while working the door at members club Shoreditch House, that Jackson, got the chance to tackle the telly industry.

“I got asked to go to an MTV audition through the friend of a friend” she recalls. “I didn’t get the job.”

However from that moment she was hooked. She managed to get herself a meeting with an agent, who offered her another audition for an online series. She went, she got the role and she was in!