Zilpah Hartley

Name: Zilpah Hartley
Company: Raising the Roof Productions Ltd
Position: Development director

Brief CV:
There are few jobs not touched upon at some point in my 34 years from washing the floors in a mechanics garage to selling underwear on a TV show and for the most part it has felt like a combination of fate, timing and luck (good or bad) which landed me in the latest role.

I realise that some of the paths I have walked must be due to my Journalism Degree from UCLAN, pushing myself to try new things and never being afraid of rejection. It was one such rejection letter from a newspaper which drove me to TV when luck landed me my first presenting role on C4’s A Place in the Sun.

Ten busy years later I now throw all that experience into being a hands-on director of Raising the Roof Productions – an award winning video production business.

What’s keeping you busy at work at the moment?
Happy to say, lots and lots of things. As individuals we have some 20 some years’ experience in TV but as a collaboration we are relatively new, just 18 months and so we are really at a turning point growth-wise.

We have won jobs to film and photograph with corporate clients (Mulitplex, Weber Shandwick, Pendle Council, Aircelle, Kammac, Euravia, Silentnight, Boundary Mill, Fireplace Warehouse) through word of mouth which is the best advertising you can have but in order to expand we are now getting our name out there, letting people know we are here and about our commitment to service.

In terms of broadcast work our crews have been working on many mainstream shows such as Pineapple Dance Studios but we are developing several series which are written and produced solely by RTR which is very exciting.

Favourite music of the moment?
I am the proud mum of a 15 month old baby boy so my life is dominated by children’s show tunes and nursery rhymes – which is exactly how I want it to be right now.

Your must-watch TV?
As our working lives are dominated by TV we have to keep up to speed with anything and everything from the big US series to the Horse and Country Channel. It’s the only way of seeing what is being made and where there may be a gap that needs filling.

Ideal way of winding down after work?
A nice long run followed by a big glass of red wine and Corrie.

Best piece of business advice:
Never run from fear – fear of finding the next job, fear of failure, fear of investing – fear drives you forward and makes you take those leaps of faith so crucial to success.