Five questions for creatives

Kim Rossiter

Kim is an ambitious and experienced series producer and edit producer with a passion for documentary and factual entertainment series, who excels in creating and leading talented and happy teams while producing heart-warming television that reflects life in the 21st century.

Kim has worked for the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and Discovery Channel and has experience in crewing up and leading large teams, casting, producing talent, directing PSC crews, setting up and directing rigs, and running and rescuing edits.

How did you get into the creative industry, and was there a defining point in your career that led you on that path?

Doing my Communication Studies A-Level was the first thing that made me realise there was potential for life and career that I hadn’t considered before. From there I did a film theory and production degree and got my first job as a PA at the BBC about a year after graduating, within six months I’d moved across to be a researcher on a documentary series about people getting married.

Is there anything you would change in your current career and if so why?

The hours are exhausting and harder to deal with the older I get!

Where do you see yourself, and your career in five years’ time?

I’ve just set up my own events and festivals company, Hot Pink Events. In five years’ time, I’d be thrilled if my husband and I were making a success of running festivals full-time.

Are there any rules or habits that help you do your job more efficiently?

I have a couple of mantras in TV. The first is one team, one dream. Everyone needs to pull together to make any show happen – the runner is just as important as the exec producer, and I work hard to make sure my teams are happy and looking out for one another.

Another is ’no stone left unturned.’ I’m thorough and I need to ensure that I and my team have looked everywhere for that perfect location or the very best contributor. If your gut instinct is telling you there could be something/someone better out there, you keep looking until you find it.

What tips would you give to anybody who is looking to get started in the creative industry?

Working in television has given me some of the very best years of my life, amazing experiences going to places and meeting people that most people would never get the opportunity to do. I’ve been behind the scenes at Harrods, London Fashion Week, 10 Downing Street, army barracks, stately homes, private members clubs, flying in private jets, travelled all over the UK and Europe, eaten in more Michelin starred restaurants than I can name. I’ve been responsible for matching people together on First Dates who have gone on to have children and get married, I’ve met industry leaders, entrepreneurs, billionaires, celebrities, Battle of Britain veterans and even the PM; I don’t know of another job or industry that could give you all of that!

For anyone starting out, I would say you need to be bright, be switched on to what’s happening in the world (that means read more than your insta-feed every morning!), smile until it aches, never moan about anyone behind their back as TV is a very small industry and everyone moves around all of the time, be prepared to work very hard over very long unsociable hours, but mostly enjoy it!

To get that first job figure out what you like watching on the TV, watch the credits (I watch the credits of EVERY show I watch, without fail) and contact the exec producer/production company. Flatter them, tell them what you love about their show and why you’re desperate to work for them. There are also lots of Facebook groups for runners which is the usual starting place for everyone on TV. The Talent Manager is also another great source for finding work.