Digital snowflakes fill the screen, the Saturday Kitchen theme tune fills the air and I am proudly wearing a Christmas shirt, waving at a camera on a crane with merry chefs and a festive celebrity. Almost every week, this BBC stalwart show, produced for the past 18 years by Cactus TV, is broadcast live to a UK audience on Saturday morning. With Matt Tebbutt at the helm, and me and former wine buyer Helen McGinn sharing drinks duties, it’s been a huge part of my life since 2006. While the Christmas show is sometimes a rare pre-record, without question live broadcasting is the most thrilling part of presenting wine on TV. With Matt’s skills as a chef, and the team backing us up in the gallery via earpiece, it’s not so much Dancing on Ice as Walking in the Air. But since it’s live on air, how much planning goes into it?
CAREFUL SELECTION
To answer that question, let me introduce you to Amanda Ross co-founder and CEO ofcasting is key,’ says Amanda. ‘For wine, we can totally trust that Olly and Helen will find the best things in the budget range for the viewers. In rehearsal, I ask them the questions people at home want answered.’
