RTS Bursary

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.

Nearly nine in every 10 people working in the sector have experienced mental health problems, according to research from The Film and TV Charity, which co-hosted the online event in early June.

“That is significantly higher than the UK population as a whole, where the figure is 65%,” said Alex Pumfrey, CEO of the charity. “There is a much higher prevalence of mental health problems for people working within film and television.”

She added: “More than half of people working in the industry have considered taking their own life.”

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”.

RTS bursary student: Natasha Graham

Mentor: Julian Unthank​, Screenwriter

Natasha on Julian

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the mentoring programme. I was a bit nervous about being matched up with Julian. You never know what someone’s going to be like.

He was really nice, though. He called me straight away and asked me what I was interested in. He’s very down to earth. I like that about him.

He invited me to meet him at H Club London – we get membership as part of our RTS bursary, so that was nice.

I recently spent a week in the commissioning department at UKTV. I arrived at the reception and gave my name, braced for the understandable response that I should leave immediately due to my lack of relevance and the fact that everyone here was very busy getting on with their jobs. But no, I was welcomed in.

As I walked through the turnstile, I expected alarms to ring out - “Unauthorised entry! You do not belong here! And also sort your hair out; seriously, what’s going on there?” but once again I passed through without an eyebrow raised.

I received the RTS Television Production bursary in 2015, so I’m approaching the end of my course at the University of Westminster.

Across my three years, I can’t overstate how much help and support the RTS bursary scheme and my RTS mentor have given me, with plentiful guidance and advice on my career path. 

Broadcast Journalism student Kyle Shiels was named winner in the Best Live category at the ceremony, which took place in Leeds on April 3rd.  

Shiels, who attends the University of Leeds and is part of Leeds Student TV, was one of 20 young people who received a fund of £3,000 from the RTS when the scheme launched in 2014. 

Florence Watson, a student at Norwich University of the Arts, has been shortlisted for a gong at the BFI's Film Festival Awards. 

She was selected for the honour alongside classmate Ella Glendining for their film Power to the Mini Beasts, and the winners will be announced at an event on Sunday (21 February).