Paula Bycroft
Executive Producer
What’s your link to Townsville?
My first job in television was as a young reporter at NQTV. I came up from Brisbane to do a journalism internship in my final year of uni and ended up nailing a full-time job in the newsroom. Talk about thrown in the deep end! Suddenly I was covering everything from drought to cyclones to visits from the Prime Minister. That’s the fabulous thing about starting in regional news – you become an instant expert in everything.
Where are you now?
Since my Townsville days, I’ve worked in Perth, London, Brisbane and Sydney. I now live in Sydney with my husband Anthony (who also works in TV) and my two children Sam and Zoe. I moved from reporting to producing many years ago, so most of my jobs have been TV writing and producing. For several years, I worked as a field producer and series producer for Beyond 2000, where they paid us to travel the world finding amazing science and technology stories. More recently, I ran Andrew Ettingshausen’s fishing show Escape with ET. I’ve also produced true crime shows for Discovery Channel in the USA. My most recent gig was Executive Producer of Selling Houses Australia, which is a lot of fun! My next project is a true crime show for Cordell Jigsaw Zapruder Productions, who make many highly successful TV shows including Bondi Rescue and The Gruen Transfer. I love crime shows – there’s a real art to slowly unravelling the mystery.
How did your time in Townsville set you up for success?
Nothing beats a grounding in a regional newsroom like NQTV. Having to shoot and write four stories a day to hit that 6pm deadline teaches you to think on your feet, be decisive and write quickly. And you become a jill-of-all-trades. The best TV executives, producers and writers I know all began as regional journos.
Do you still come ‘home’ to Townsville to visit?
I came back for the NQTV reunion several years ago. We laughed non-stop the whole weekend. It felt like we were back at The Bank nightclub circa 1987. I’d love to visit again soon. Townsville gave me my first big break. Thanks!
CONNECT NOW
www.cjz.com.au