It takes more than enthusiasm to get ahead in an industry as competitive as television, so when Becky Maynard, a freelance assistant producer, had the opportunity to put herself one step ahead of the pack via a talent scheme, she leapt at the chance.

“I’d always wanted to work in television because it’s a means of mass communication,” she says. “When you get to work on a programme that can make a difference, that’s brilliant, isn’t it?”

Not that she doesn’t believe in the power of television simply to entertain. After leaving the Cardiff School of Art and Design with a degree in fine art, Maynard worked hard to build up her experience as a television researcher, hunting down compelling subjects for a wide variety of TV shows. She worked on Endemol’s The Games – a role that involved everything from local publicity to coordinating DJs and cheerleaders – to a Channel 4 documentary about elderly people and another about the role of curators in the art world. She hopped from one independent production company to another, trying to make a good impression and picking up useful contacts.

“Everything was new and exciting. You have to work really hard but it is about creating a good image. You go from one production to another.”

With four years’ experience under her belt, she applied to take part in the 2007 Fast Track programme, a talent scheme that gives 40 participants accommodation and access to the Edinburgh International Television Festival. It includes two days of master-classes on a range of topics with insiders such as Armando Iannucci, the writer and producer.

During the scheme, Maynard took part in a competition to pitch an idea for a short film, judged by television bigwigs such as the controller of entertainment for ITV. She mastered her nerves and won the chance to produce and direct a ten-minute film for ITV2 about box wars – fights that take place in Edinburgh nightclubs between participants wearing homemade cardboard armour. The experience taught her invaluable project management skills as well as being her first chance to direct – something that she now knows she wants to do in the future. “It’s quite a big job, a major learning curve and a massive opportunity.”

As well as a more impressive CV, Maynard has gained a network of reliable contacts and friends. She found her present short-term role as a development assistant producer at Shine, a production company, thanks to a Fast Track contact.

“It’s changed my career because of the people I have met,” she says. “It’s given me direction and confidence.

“Freelance work can be so precarious, but I now have such a network of contacts and experience that – and this is tempting fate – I should never be out of work.” Fast Track opens for applications on May 13. Details at mgeitf.co.uk/fasttrack

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