Budding Southampton journalists land their first celebrity interview

[Laura Downton]

ASPIRING journalists from Southampton got the chance to rub shoulders with a number of celebrities on Friday, October 16, as they interviewed TV presenter Claudia Winkleman on the set of her BBC TV show.

Four students from Southampton City College, who are studying a National Diploma in journalism, met the presenter and journalist on the set of It takes Two, Strictly Come Dancing’s spin-off show, to get their first taste of what it is like to interview a celebrity.

The students spent an hour interviewing Claudia and got a chance to pick up some tips from her before they were invited onto the TV set to watch a live recording of the show. There they got the chance to see stars such as Bonnie Tyler, Phil Tufnell and Chris Hollins in action.

City College’s journalism national diploma course, which had a 100 per cent success rate last year, puts emphasis on giving the students all the skills they need to be a well-rounded journalist in today’s multimedia world. This meant that not only were the students tasked with writing up their interviews for the college’s own paper, Phoenix, but they also had to write copy for websites and produce a radio interview.

Student Andy Falquero, 19, said: “The day was a real eye-opening experience, which shows exactly what goes on behind the scenes of any TV show. It was a good learning experience as well.”

Shani Clark, Head of School for Media and Theatre at Southampton City College, added: “I am personally delighted that a grounded celebrity has taken time out to talk with our students. This will be a fantastic addition to their CV and hopefully will encourage them to go and get their own high profile interviews.”