It’s a common-held belief that working in TV is glamorous.
There’s no doubt it can be – and looking back to my days covering showbiz, life was a blur of red carpets, canapes and champagne.
On Homes Under The Hammer, a couple of times a year we stay in a posh hotel to film our “link” where all three presenters say the bits to camera in between filming properties.
But week in and week out, it’s an eternal loop of damp or rat infested properties sold at auction in the likes of Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and the Welsh Valleys, punctuated with stop overs at budget hotels which not always – but often enough – have remnants of food attached to the sheets.
I’m not complaining, I love it – apart from the mouldy food bit obviously.
But glamorous it is – more often than not – not.
Arriving home to my own house and bed is heavenly and my urge is to hibernate with my family or in pyjamas watching Strictly while I can.
Last week, rather than hide away, I accepted an invitation from the Tele to sit at their table at a do in the Apex Hotel called Strictly Come Prancing.
The event is organised by a top team at Wave FM to raise money for Help For Kids – and centres around Dundee couples taking to the dance floor, just like the BBC1 telly show, competing to win the crown.
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I didn’t know what to expect, but what I found was more sequins than Elton John’s wardrobe at Christmas – with a glitter theme.
The ladies of Dundee sure know how to doll up, with multitudes of hair ups and expertly highlighted cheeks.
The men cut dapper figures, with some eye-popping ensembles (including the Tele’s very own editor Dave Lord, and reporter James Simpson) and I loved the velvet tuxedos and bow ties I spotted in the mix.
The atmosphere was electric – not least after the paper’s own Kenny MacDonald took to the dance floor with his panther-like moves, leading to chants of his name around the specially-erected marquee.
It was a night to rival any charity do in any city with a high calibre of contestant, guest, food, venue and more that is reflective of the ambition we as a people and city now hold.
As for Team Tele – our table was as fun and funny as you might expect.
Maybe I won’t hide away so often, and instead up my game and get the lip gloss out for a night on the tiles in a refreshed and showbuzzy Dundee.
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