Great career advice and great career stories were delivered by a panel of creatives at the FRAME (Futures in Real-world Arts, Media, and Entertainment) event at the University of Winchester.
Keynote speaker was alumna Vanessa Amberleigh, a six-time Bafta winning writer and producer of children’s TV whose lengthy list of credits includes include Big Cook Little Cook, Basil Brush, Dappledown Farm, Dog and Duck, Gigglebiz.
Vanessa took Drama, Theatre and TV Studies at Winchester when it was still King Alfred’s College and on graduating successfully applied for two jobs – one as a drama teacher and the other as a sidekick to Zippo the Clown. She took the latter.
Her dreams of becoming a serious actress fell by the wayside as she found she had a natural talent for connecting with children who she described as “the audience with the best imaginations in the world”.
After writing countless letters and receiving countless rejections she landed a job as a presenter on the BBC’s successor to Play School, Playbus which became Playdays.
Vanessa moved from presenting to writing and then producing and was key figure at the start of the BBC’s CBeebies channel for under-sixes where she created Bedtime Stories.
In her extensive career she has worked for the BBC, ITV, Sky Channel 5, Nickelodeon and Disney and in later years became increasingly involved the creation of animated shows such as Bitz and Bob.
In 2025 she received an Honorary fellowship from the University of Winchester.
“Pre-school TV is a passion. I love this age group,” said Vanessa who stressed the importance of children’s programmes.
“Your programme maybe the only thing that makes a child laugh that day.”
She concluded: “I am overwhelmingly fortunate to have made a difference to children’s lives.”
She urged students setting out on their careers to be kind; be prepared to make mistakes; be brave; volunteer and be prepared for challenges; and look after your health.
Following Vanessa's talk there was a panel event chaired by Rob Ferrin, Film Lecturer and Deputy Head of the University’s School of Creative Performance and Production.
Winchester Alumni Charlotte Hall, Artistic Director of The Point at Eastleigh, Natasha Farina, corporate film producer and director for Tailwind Group, theatre producer Sam Quested of Qube Theatricals, and Dominic Lambrechts, a speakers and rigging technician with Britannia Row Audio, were joined on the panel by Tobias Hunter, a Design Lead at IBM.
Career paths in the arts were seldom linear, said Charlotte Hall who predicted many of the audience would end up pursuing portfolio careers but she urged students interested in the theatre to: “Go and see work – do not enter a sector you are not participating in as an audience member.”
Charlotte, who had run her own touring company for several years, added: “Create your own space and make work with an audience in mind.”
Dominic Lambrechts, who graduated just two years ago after studying Music and Sound Production, urged students to keep their CVs up to date and post them on every available platform.
He admitted that when he interviewed for the job with Britannia Row. “There were more qualified candidates but I said I was willing to learn and willing to grow with the job.”
Dominic added that the real-world experience he gained through the University working with the Winchester Books Festival at events with famous authors was a great addition to his CV and helped him gain the job.
FRAME, held at the University’s Stripe building, also featured break-out sessions on How to Gain Arts Funding, How to Market Yourself as an Actor and How to Impress at Interview.
Various organisations also had stands at the event including: