After 6 months waiting, now less than 6 days to broadcasting the episode, my tiny insert on BBC’s Bargain Hunt will go out on 6th October 2023!
It was quite an exciting time…
Back on the 11th April of this year I was contacted by a researcher from BBC Bargain Hunt.
‘Hello,…‘
‘I hope you don’t mind me emailing you…’
‘I’m looking for possible insert ideas…’
‘We are filming at Builth Wells…’
‘I came across your lovely crochet bags…’
You know when you skim read something that seems too good to be true, you tend to pick out keywords: insert, filming, Builth Wells, crochet, bags… lovely crochet bags! I hesitated. Was this a scam? No, surely it seemed too detailed to be a scam. Was I sure though? I Googled the sender. Oh! Yep he works for BBC Wales. Hmm what to do then? I made a cuppa coffee. Reread the email and decided to go for it.
11/04/23
‘Hi…’
‘What a lovely surprise to receive your email…’
‘I was so pleased you loved my Tiny Bags…’
‘Thank you again for considering my crochet work…’
There ensued a nervous wait. Had I done the right thing? How stupid am I, of course it’s a scam! Much mental drumming of fingers… … … oh, forget it, let it go… … …
12/04/23
‘Hi Vicky…’
‘Thank you for getting back to me…’
‘Crochet I think could be a lovely item for Bargain Hunt…’
‘Are you based in or near Builth Wells…’
Then I was asked if I would be available on certain dates later in the month and informed the producers would have the final say, but they would definitely like to bear me in mind next time they were in the area. I rushed off in high excitement to tell mum, before taking a deep breath, going back to the email and dealing with one question at a time.
12/04/23
Hi…
Yes, I do live near…
would be available on…
It would be great to have Bargain Hunt highlight the history of crochet…
The idea was then ‘pitched’ to the producers and another wait ensued.
14/04/23
Morning Vicky…
I have pitched the idea…
Are you free… for a quick call?
After the phone call I received a follow-up email with nine crochet related questions from the director. From those questions the bones of the transcript were put together for the insert. A copy of the transcript was sent to me by the director who reassured me that they liked to keep things casual. I was also given a time and date, to be at the location at the Royal Welsh Showground, which the researcher confirmed with more details of exactly where, at the showground, I needed to be with my display.
Along the way I was asked about showing the presenter how to crochet and I tied down the kind of item (obviously a Tiny Bag!) and colourway (traditional Welsh colours) so I didn’t have to haul in half my yarn stash! The table size was also discussed. Then I just had to turn up at the greenroom an hour before filming.
The most stressful part of the whole day was turning up at the Royal Welsh Showground only to be told I was not to park in the carpark, but I was to drive through the showground to the BBC building. It was packed. People, children, pushchairs, dogs on leads, outdoor cafes, tables and chairs, trolleys, carts, vans everywhere! Holy Moly! I crawled along with my hazard lights flashing away (as instructed by the helpful gatekeeper) trying hard to remember the directions and remember the showground layout from a previous visit. Of course I took a wrong turn and had to loop around, making a nonsense of the directions I’d been given. I can not tell you how happy I was to see the BBC sign in the distance and even happier when there was plenty of space to park outside the building.
I was gathered up by an assistant who took me into the greenroom area and then showed me where I was to set-up my display. I got onto this as soon as I could, so I had plenty of time to tweak it, if necessary and so I could sit back and watch the day unfold. A welcome coffee arrived and I eventually was able to sit down, nibbled on some biscuits and take in my surroundings.
The greenroom had several tables put together surrounded by chairs, where everyone had lunch. The assistant/receptionist had a separate smaller table by the door. The whole of the front was glassed, giving a view of the grounds and beyond that the more familiar view of Builth Wells and the valley the river Wye runs through. I became aware of people wandering past, sometimes slowing down to peer into the building. Except for the occasional runner popping in for this and that, all was quiet.
That all changed when everyone flooded into the building for lunch. The Red and Blue teams were high as kites and full of stories about what had occurred during the morning filming, which they related to family members or plus ones, who’d joined them for the day. After grabbing some food they disappeared out on their own for a while. Then the film crew and runners came in, much calmer, clearly pacing themselves. Chatting together about how things had gone. A comment was made about the weight of one of the items picked by one of the teams, by the person who’d had to carry it, which caused some gentle ribbing. Various and assorted folk came over and chatted to me and asked about my display. The Experts were also grabbing something to eat and catch-up on their mobiles. The atmosphere was really friendly and laid-back. Then everyone cleared up and disappeared off to finish filming.
Shortly after everyone had gone the director arrived with his film crew back, I think, from location filming and was immediately busy catching up with the day. The researcher I’d been in communication with immediately came over and introduced himself, laid eyes on my display, announced himself very happy with it and excused himself to get back to his tasks. I sipped my coffee and tweaked at the display.
Then suddenly it was my turn. The presenter, Charlie, arrived and came over to say hello. We chatted about my crochet and briefly went over the questions in the script. Then the director came over for a chat. He’d got some traditional pieces of crochet he wanted to try to bring into the piece, so we chat around the stitchwork and yarn used.
Two huge screens, I hadn’t noticed, were pulled across the room to soundproof the back area from the front. Then two cameramen and a soundman appeared. I was fitted with a mic and levels taken. Charlie, the director and the familiar researcher arrived and things got serious. Serious? Maybe I should say professional. I found it extremely interesting. The script was broken down into little clips. Each one consisted of a question, an answer and then the detail – maybe a closeup, a Tiny Bag reference, and/or further explanation. It was very natural and as the process was repeated I began to sense what the director wanted from the piece. I was pretty chuffed that I don’t think I had to do more than a couple of retakes as a result of stumbling over my words. The way the cameramen communicated with each other over the different shots was so good, the director was great, keeping the flow of the conversation between Charlie and I going, picking out pieces that worked well and getting us to expand on them. Charlie was very professional, deceptively so. He made it easy for me, setting up the questions so I naturally went into an answer which I was able to draw from all the many conversations I’ve had with customers over the years. I was fascinated by the whole process. Clever stuff. Too soon it was over though, photos taken, thank yous done. I was told the episode would be out in six months and they would be in touch to let me know exactly when.
As the screens were drawn back and I was left to pack away I noticed the red and blue teams collecting their bits and pieces also getting ready to leave. This time they looked a little weary – it must’ve been a long day for them and now the rush of adrenalin had gone. The researcher reappeared to help me trundled my display back through the glass door, to my car outside. A final farewell and I was off, hazard lights flashing again as I drove back through a much reduced showground. Stands were being covered over and chairs stacked as I drove out passed the gatekeeper who waved and smiled. I gave her a brief thumbs up as I turned left back towards Builth Wells.
At the beginning of June I was asked if I had any images of my Great Grandmother they could use. Nan taught me many traditional crafts, when I was little and I’d mentioned this, to Charlie during the filming. I was delighted they were thinking of including images of her in my insert. It kind of brought both the piece and my craft-life full circle.
Further emails to give formal permission to use the images were exchanged, before a long wait until I received a final email in September telling me the programme was ready for transmission and giving me the details of when it would be shown.
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So, it’s the 4th today and as I mentioned the episode will be shown on the 6th October, 2023. I went online to check the BBC schedule and was highly amused to find an image of myself and Charlie as the cover image. I couldn’t of been more smiley if I’d tried! I remember it was taken after the filming, so maybe a certain amount of relief along with the huge amount of enjoyment I’d got from the day contributed to the smiley face. Many thanks to all at BBC Bargain Hunt for looking after me so well and for giving me a day to remember.
Mooniiplaits Crochet 