Beyond Reality

Beyond Reality

Join TV Producer Hayley Ferguson (Nee Dunn) as she chats with the people behind the TV shows you love, about their stories and experiences of working in television and how they got their start in the industry. If you’re interested in a career in television or just starting out in the industry then this podcast can give you the insider insights you need to help you carve out your own road to success.

Episodes

July 23, 2023 60 mins

In this episode, I’m joined by Leroux Botha, the Creative Producer for Cape Town based production company AfrOkaans and Executive Producer for Survivor South Africa. 

Leroux shares his incredible journey in television from his early years working on soap operas, to becoming the instrumental force in returning Survivor South Africa to our screens in recent years. 

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In this episode, I catch up with Natasha Pizzica, a series producer who’s worked across a range of genres from primetime entertainment shows like Big Brother and Gogglebox to iconic kids television such as Playschool and Teletubbies, and even though-provoking docuseries like Limitless with Chris Hemsworth. I find out how Tash’s theatre background set her up for a career of creativity, how she navigates the busy world of tv producti...

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May 21, 2023 44 mins

In this episode, I chat with award-winning editor, Karen Crespo, who has been responsible crafting some of the most memorable moments on our favourite shows such as Masterchef, Australian Survivor and Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds. 

I find out about Karen’s early beginnings in TV and how her creative style and ability to carve out emotional moments became renowned in the industry. 

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May 7, 2023 63 mins

In this episode, I sit down with Executive Producer, David Forster. David’s first taste of reality TV is not what you’d expect, he tells me all about his unconventional introduction to the industry, how he later honed his skills on set as a writer and the key moments along the way that ultimately led to his rise to the top job on Masterchef and Australian Survivor. 

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In this bonus episode, I share a recent collaboration with The Production Portal where I joined Emma Ritchie along with Bloomtime Media’s, Yana Groves and Laura Young from Coordimate for a panel discussion about Industry Mentoring Initiatives in television. I hope you enjoy this special edition of the podcast.

If you want to find out more about The Production Portal and the other guests from this panel. You can find them o...

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In this episode, I sit down with Frank Sinton, President of A. Smith & Co. Productions and Executive Producer of Floor Is Lava to talk about the launch of series 2 of the hit show on Netflix. Frank shares his insights from an impressive 40 year career in television that now sees him at the helm of a whole slate of TV shows. We chat about the key ingredient for making it in the industry, how he stays passionate after all these y...

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In this episode, I chat with South African Art Director and Challenge Producer Courtney Watts. Courtney has worked on some of the most popular reality formats such as Big Brother, Survivor and I’m a Celebrity across a number of global territories. I find out how Courtney’s passion and creativity led her to an international career in TV. 

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In this episode, I sit down with post producer and story producer Amelia Wasserman who spent years working in the field on shows such as The Bachelorette , Four Weddings and Storage Wars in Canada before more recently moving to Australia where she now works as a post producer. Amelia shares her story from the early years of working in broadcast news, her experiences on reality and factual formats in Canada and Australia and even re...

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November 10, 2020 66 mins

In this episode, I catch up with supervising producer Katie Horbury, originally hailing from the UK she now calls LA home and her career in television has seen her work on huge formats such as Big Brother, Love Island  and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here across multiple international markets. I chat to Katie about the challenges of starting out, why she values the balance of working in the field and in the edit and how her passi...

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October 20, 2020 71 mins

In this episode, LA-based producer Andrea Rehrig joins me to chat about her career in television, from her early days at E! Entertainment and Laguna Beach to producing on both US and Australian Survivor. She shares her story about how her passion for people led her to a life in TV. 

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August 3, 2020 64 mins

In this episode, I’m joined by publicity manager Kate Whitby whose slate of shows has included, The X Factor, Australian Survivor and Lego Masters. I chat to Kate about her early career as an entertainment reporter for Dolly Magazine, what it’s like to work with radio royalty Kyle and Jackie O and the always unpredictable life of a TV publicist.

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In this episode, I catch up with Alex Spurway, a supervising control room producer and story producer whose reality TV experience includes, Married At First Sight, Love Island and Australian Survivor. I chat to Alex about how she started her career on the Today Show, what it’s like to be an executive producer in the competitive world of breakfast radio and how she eventually found her place in reality TV.  

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June 29, 2020 68 mins

In this episode, I’m joined by Michelle Gauntlett, a line producer whose career in production has seen her work shows such as Australian Survivor, The Bachelor and Australian Ninja Warrior. I find out how Michelle got her start working on specialist factual TV in the UK, before successfully making the move to Australia, where she now works on some of the biggest entertainment formats in the country. 

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June 22, 2020 18 mins

In this episode, I chat with Brendan Garlick a home economist who has worked on shows including; Masterchef, MKR and The Great Australian Bake Off. I find out how Brendan went from reality TV contestant to working on Australia’s favourite food reality formats.

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In this episode, I chat to Kaite Milicich, a Story Producer and Post Producer who has worked on some of Australia’s biggest reality TV shows such as Married At First Sight, Australian Survivor and Lego Masters. I talk to Kaite about how she balances the unpredictable world of field producing with the more structured environment of post production. 

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June 1, 2020 38 mins

In this episode, I’m joined by Nick Peterson - a sound recordist who has worked on shows such as Travel Guides, Australian Survivor and Australia’s Next Top Model. I chat to Nick about growing up in a TV family, the toughest gigs in sound and an 8 hour surgery he will never forget. 

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In this episode, I chat to Matt Hindson, a shooter producer and story producer who has worked on shows such as Dancing With the Stars and Australian Survivor. I find out how Matt went from working in a TV network call centre to producing on some of Australia’s biggest reality formats.

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May 18, 2020 42 mins

In this episode, I talk to Paul Webb, an Australian camera operator, whose passion has taken him all around the world from covering the OJ Simpson trial, to shooting countless seasons to US Survivor. I find out how Paul cut his teeth in the industry in news before taking on the world of reality TV.

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May 11, 2020 35 mins

In this episode, I catch up with Erica Foley, a senior story producer who has worked on some of Australia’s biggest reality formats including Australian Survivor, Big Brother and Australian Ninja Warrior, as well as human interest campaigns for R U OK? Day and the 'Yes' vote for marriage equality. I find how Erica’s passion for story telling has informed her choices throughout her career. 

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In this episode, I’m joined by Grant Phillips, a story producer and challenge producer who has worked on shows including Australian Survivor, Big Brother and The Bachelor. I talk to Grant about how he turned his reality TV obsession into a successful career in television. 

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