Katy Thorogood

How did you find out about Ones To Watch?

I think it was a small advert at the back of Broadcast?? It was the first year of Ones To Watch (back then it was called TV25) so I wasn’t quite sure what I was applying for but couldn’t pass up the opportunity of a free trip to Edinburgh!

What’s your best memory from being on the scheme?

The energy of the place, feeling like I was part of a whole industry instead of a very small cog in a tiny enclave. I loved sharing a flat with other people on the scheme from different parts of the industry and doing the masterclasses by day and seeing comedy at night. My memories are a whirl of lager in plastic glasses, smoky basement rooms with comedians leaning on mic stands and hobnobbing with industry big wigs while trying to act like I fitted in. (To be honest, that’s been my experience of Edinburgh ever since…except for the smoke).

Tell us about the most memorable talks/sessions in your year.

I remember being star struck seeing Dawn Airey as she was a poster girl for me and dizzy with excitement about the class with Sebastian Scott as The Big Breakfast was so flipping cool and I was terminally nerdy.

Did being on the scheme change your career ambitions?

It didn’t change my ambitions (applying for the advert meant I was already ambitious with a keen eye for a free trip) but it did open my eyes to the opportunities.

Did you meet anyone through the scheme, or at the Festival, who’s had a big impact on your life or career?

There wasn’t a single person but cumulatively having the small masterclasses with such big industry names made them, quite literally, more touchable. I was the swot who read the Media Guardian at far too young an age so the people who took those classes were rock stars in my myopic world and they all had a role model impact on me.