Angela Allen

"I literally knocked on doors of production companies until one said you might get a job at Isleworth Studios if you get yourself there. I got there, met Guy Hamilton who was then a first assistant director. He introduced me to the continuity girl, Betty Forster, and she took me on as an assistant. I got 15 shillings a week."

Libbie Barr

"A few years later a former colleague rang and told me she was leaving 'Minder' - a terrific series on ITV - and why didn't I take over from her?? After a great deal of thought, I remembered Meta Wilde -I had to take this chance. I left the comfortable arms of the BBC and did six months on 'Minder' - a very hard, but rewarding, learning curve!!! The rest is history and - luckily for me - the phone never stopped ringing about future jobs."

Jean Bourne

"I got married and we moved to Ireland. A continuity lady rang me out of the blue...she had worked with me in London and asked would I like to train, in Ireland, to do film work. I did 3 days training on a Guinness commercial and that was it!!"

Pat Rambaut

"At the time in the UK, to work in the industry you had to have a union ticket and to get a union ticket you had to have a job. Catch 22. The loophole was to hang out till you got the job no-one else wanted or everyone was busy! And that’s what happened."