Being a TV Presenter is probably up there as a number one Dream Job, as Zilpah Hartley will tell you. You’re paid to look stunning on camera, you get to travel all over the world and meeting amazing people is part and parcel of the job. But is it as glamorous as it seems? Sian Claire Owen investigates.

Did you always want to be a TV presenter?
No, when I was at school I wanted to be a solicitor! So I did my work experience in solicitors' offices, that type of thing. Then I decided that I wanted to be a journalist so I made sure I got all the right experience, mainly working on local papers. So I actually started off in print journalism. After university I went to London and worked on the Times Higher Educational Supplement, the Sun, and the News of the World, and then I got a job as PA to the Marketing Director at The Times and Sunday Times. So it wasn’t related to TV at all!

How did you get your lucky break?
I got a call out of the blue from a production company who was looking for a presenter. It was a connection from university, and they had seen some of my portfolio details online. I was asked to go for a screen test somewhere in East London, but I literally had no idea what the whole thing was about, or what it involved! At the time I was just going along for the experience, I didn’t expect to land the part. But I got called back, and in less than two weeks I flew out for my first shot to film Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun.

What kind of training did you receive?
None really, it was literally a case of learning on the job. I remember standing in front of the executive producer who gave me my schedule for the series. It involved travelling all over the world, and we just did it. It honestly never sunk in until after three months what I was actually doing! In fact I remember my mother saying ‘I just let my daughter go off in a van around with world with a load of strangers!” It’s funny to look back on my earlier work, because you can tell how new to TV I was. In those early days it was really hard, it’s something you need to learn, you don’t just do it naturally. Like anything, it’s down to hard work and experience.

What’s a typical day in your life?
It depends on the series. Any location work will obviously involve travelling, and because I live in Lancashire it’s always a distance. But at the start I’ll get my call sheet that outlines what pieces are spoken to camera, who we’re interviewing, etc. And I’ll get my script that I’ll go through. We also have a team of researchers who get the background information to the programme. When I was filming A Place in the Sun, any place I visited had researchers there at least two weeks before I arrived. They’d know the area inside out when we got there so we could get the filming completed quickly. But like I said, it depends on the programme. The show I’m presenting right now (Home Wrecks to Riches for the Discovery Channel) is very methodical, we’ll film it in order. So I’ll record the intro, give a tour of the house and we talk to the property owners. It can be weeks between location visits, and there are a lot of early starts! Saying that, with A Place in the Sun we could film everything out of sequence and put it together afterwards, a bit like a jigsaw.

What’s the best part of your job?
The travelling! With Place in the Sun I spent three years travelling all over the world. At the time it was continuous, it never stopped. It’s amazing to think I did that! You also get to meet some amazing people. I also like seeing developments that people have put their heart and souls into. Once I did a re-visit with one of the first couples we worked with in France. I couldn’t believe what they’d done to the place, it was beautiful. I actually burst into tears!

Is TV as glamorous as it seems?
There is definitely a myth about television. TV is very systematic and it can get laborious. For example, for every one shot on camera you’ll need to film it around 15 times from different angles. And every cliché you hear about TV is true, it’s a tough industry and you need to be thick-skinned and ambitious.

Do you need a degree to break into TV?
Well, my mum would say that it’s stood me in good stead, and having a journalism or broadcast journalism degree will certainly unlock doors. But whether my degree which was in print journalism, actually helped, I don’t know!

What’s your advice for budding TV presenters?
How many times have I been asked that question! I know I sort of fell into my job, but I’ve been doing it for eight years now, so my advice is that you need to be tough, hard and ambitious. Also, prepare yourself to start from the bottom and work your way up. Of course this means you might need to take low paid jobs at first. And these days you’ll need to be multi-skilled, you’ll be expected to operate cameras, work on sound, direct shoots, do research, all things like that. So it’s very important to focus on your skills. It also helps to make friends with the right people, and of course there’s always good old luck!