Life as a TV & Film Support Artist – BBC Doctors! Whilst BBC Doctors was not the very first on-set experience I had, it was a production that provided me with great insight into the industry and cemented my enthusiasm and passion for what I now view as being a hobby that pays.
Life as a TV & Film Support Artist started for me in June of 2022. I first registered with Casting Collective. But, it was not until I had registered with Celex based in the East Midlands, that I got my first opportunity to appear on BBC Doctors.
BBC Doctors is a TV production which had been running and on air since March 2000. By the time I first arrived at the BBC Drama Village at Archibald House, Birmingham, the show had been aired for over 22 years. Many actors, crew and support artists had appeared and then disappeared with many varied story lines. Due to BBC cuts, the show concluded in November 2024.
For me, I was not chosen out of the masses to appear. Nor was I personally selected due to my vast wealth of experience! No, I, in fact, responded late at night to a Facebook Post from Celex and got booked on the spot. Basically, someone had called in sick, and they needed a last-minute replacement. This is how I have been booked on several occasions.
Now, back to my TV & Support Artist work on BBC Doctors. The top photo depicts a scene in a restaurant. The main cast are seated and the Support Artists, for which I am one, are the waiters, doing the serving. I was the Head Waiter and the only female Support Artist on this particular set. The images to the right are also from that particular episode.
You might be wondering why there is an image reflective of The Traitors! Well, as part of the same episode, one of the characters, Dr Zara Carmichael, played by Actress Elisabeth Dermot Walsh, wanted to have some fun with the other main cast, and I, together with one other Support Artist, were asked to don the iconic Traitor cloak and be in on the act. This is the closest I will ever get to being a real Traitor, as game show participation is not really my thing.
Over the period of about nine months, I had several opportunities to appear on BBC Doctors. I was a waiter and a Traitor, I was also a Doctor within the hospital and a patient. My roles included featured and walk-on exposure.
Reading this blog post and not knowing what the phrase ‘featured’ or ‘walk-on’ means, I will explain. A ‘featured’ role is one where you are likely to interact in close quarters with the main cast and, in some circumstances, may even have to deliver a line of dialogue or provide a specific creative reaction.
A ‘walk-on’ role is just as the phrase would suggest: you walk on into the shot on set. A lot of the time, Support Artists are posted in set positions already on set when ‘action’ is said. A walk-on would cover those opportunities where you enter the set after ‘action’ and carry out your task. There is plenty of grey when it comes to defining a Support Artist’s contribution, and some productions will try to not pay a walk-on fee if they can get away with it. I will do a post about fees and payments etc in the future.
Life as a TV & Film Support Artist – BBC Doctors, truly launched my, do I dare say it, career as a TV and Film Support Artist, and the production is sadly missed in the Midlands.
Being a TV & Film Support Artist, whether on BBC Doctors or any other production, is far from glamorous though and is very unlikely to lead on to a successful acting career. The two images to the right depict me as mere ‘blurs’ in the background. The reality being that a TV & Film Support Artist’s purpose in life is to be a blur, to be fluff! But, without us blurs and fluff, TV and Films would lack authenticity, depth and sometimes emotion. TV and Film Supports Artists play a vital role in the making of drama on our screens, and I am proud to be doing my part, fluff and all!
