A great person to come to for advice

Jay has always been a great person to come to for advice. He cared, he was generous and he always had something to say that made things clearer and more constructive.

He is the reason why I have a career in TV and I always carry with me the bits of wisdom he gave me along the way.

He said things like: “If you want to work in TV, you need to know what TV you like and do your best to work on those programmes.”

It may sound silly but in a world that can be daunting, it gave me a thread to follow. Now when someone tells me they want to work in this field, I always make sure I share with them Jay’s advice.

Once I was moaning because someone I knew had moved up quicker than I had and I was feeling rubbish, he retorted: “Sometimes you are ahead, sometimes you are behind. It is good to take both with a pinch of salt.” (I am using quotation marks here but I am completely paraphrasing, I hope you don’t mind.)

Finally, last time I was in touch with him, he said he wasn’t sure anyone deserves anything but we all need luck and good fortune although it would be nice if it was spread a bit more evenly.

Although he said this about deserving things, he was one of the most conscientious people I know, giving his best to achieve his and others’ happiness.

Personally I find enraging that he ran out of luck so abruptly but his precious advices will always stay with me and I am grateful for that. I hope they can be helpful to others too.

Adrienne Doyard
London, 14th September 2014