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Jules said: “Susie and Stewart are my Look East family. I’m
really fortunate to work with such great people.”
She spends the morning preparing the weather forecast graphics on
her computer. She said: “I get sent basic charts and scripts from WeatherQuest and I have a very long chat with them to see what the
weather story is. The charts allow me to get the story in my head.
I’m not like the news presenters I don’t have autocue.
“I usually have around two to two and a quarter minutes to fill
in. That can change depending on what’s happening in the
programme. I have the unattractive nickname of the ‘Look East
buffer’. It’s my job to fill whatever space is left in the
programme. If I had autocue that would be impossible.”
Jules explained how place names are selected for the maps:
"They
are put on by viewers’ request. I try and do a mixture of requests
and major places for a sense of geography.”
Always busy, she responds to viewers’ questions or dashes off to
outside broadcasts in the afternoon. She has always worked hard,
since doing 15-hour days working at BBC Radio Nottingham, while
studying for a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
She then moved onto Midlands today as a picture editor, before
having her big break presenting the weather. A video of her found
its way to Look East where she has been ever since.
Jules said: “My feeling is that if you present the forecast which
is clear and understandable, people go away knowing what you are
talking about. The thing I’m always stressing to people is
forecasting isn’t an exact science. I try and be honest in my
approach.”
She realises the importance of her forecasts. She said: “For
people such as farmers, weather very much affects their
livelihood. You can see why they are so weather obsessed.”
Jules has made the occasional gaff. She confessed: “I’ve been on
Auntie’s Bloomers twice already. I’m not sure that ‘s something
you ought to admit to.”
Being a television personality, she virtually never switches off
from the role. She said: “I’m always being asked to open events
such as fetes. People will stop me in the street. They like to
know where I buy a jacket from or where I have my hair cut. Most
of the time it’s ‘Hi Jules - how you doing?’ which is really nice.
“It comes with job, its part of the territory. Sometimes you don’t
feel like being happy, but you have to be professional and get on
with it.”
She does a lot of charity work including for Merchants of India
and is about to do some filming for Children in Need.
Jules doesn’t even have the luxury of being pampered in the
dressing room. She said: “I have to do my own makeup these days. I
have to rush and slap on some lipstick and face powder before the
show.”
So what’s next for Jules? She said: “Women generally don’t last as
long as men in television, unless they are a big name. If
something like a holiday, hospital or gardening programme came
along I would be interested. I’m very lucky that I really love my
job. It’s a great programme and I can live in the countryside with
out having to commute for hours.”
October 2004 |
