Marverine Cole on breaking into TV: ‘I hope to inspire other aspiring Black presenters – here’s how I did it’-Marverine Cole and Cydney Yeates-Entertainment – Metro

Good Morning Britain newsreader Marverine Cole is a trailblazer in her field (Picture: Rex)

As a family, we watched a lot of telly in the 70s.

Sat in the living room, I was drawn in by the sight of Lenny Henry, The Fosters and especially Floella Benjamin, who was on my favourite show: Playschool. 

As I got older, I would stare in awe at Moira Stuart reading the news on the BBC and Sir Trevor McDonald on ITN. 

Just seeing them made me wonder if I could one day be the person beamed into sitting rooms just like mine. They were the reason that I decided to pursue broadcasting and it became an itch I needed to scratch. 

Once I started I never wanted to stop. I hope through my career I have inspired other young Black aspiring presenters, so I want to share the route I followed to get to where I am now. 

As soon as I turned 16, I wrote letters to all the local radio stations. That summer, I got work experience at BBC Pebble Mill. I made tea, did the photocopying, fetched guests from reception, and took them up to the studios. 

From the outside, It might not seem like the most ‘exciting’ work, but I knew I needed to see what it was like and I found every day exhilarating.  

Marverine was the only Black reporter on the news desk at BBC Midlands Today (Picture: BBC)

Still, I felt too shy to pursue an NCTJ (National Council for the Training of Journalists) qualification, as the only places where you could do the course at that time were in London or Newcastle, and I didn’t want to be too far from home.

Instead, I did a Business Studies degree at university locally in the late 80s. I was determined to get my foot in the door in the media though. 

When I graduated, I remember reading an interview with Phillip Schofield in a kids’ magazine called Look-in about how he got into children’s television. He said he worked in hospital radio, so I applied to be a volunteer at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. 

I spent months going around the wards collecting requests from patients and families and that was a fantastic education for me. It got me more out of my shell, talking to strangers. It also got me my start in radio. 

For a good 10 years during my 20s, I was a freelancer doing bits and bobs of commercial radio while also working as a secretary. I managed to get a show in Coventry, and 60s & 70s Soul, Motown & Disco in Stockport. And I also learned the basics of talking to time live when reading the traffic and travel bulletins for BBC Local Radio stations.

She was also the first non-white female presenter at QVC (Picture: Rex)

I’m grateful for this period as it allowed me to build my skills and knowledge, so that when I turned 30, I felt prepared enough to dive into the industry full time. 

However, I knew I had more to learn, so in 2003 I applied for a post-graduate diploma in broadcasting journalism at Birmingham City University. It was the best thing I ever did.  

At the time I couldn’t even afford to go on the course, but I was offered a bursary from ITV News, Heart FM News, and the BBC. ITV News offered the best bursary, so I took that one, and I was very thankful to them to give me that start. 

Following my studies, I was welcomed to the network for six months as a trainee TV reporter before I hustled my way into the BBC. 

There, I worked at Midlands Today as a researcher, before getting a contract at radio West Midlands for three years. I was the only Black female reporter on the news desk. I loved the day to day of my job, but it is hard to be the only Black person on set. 

Marverine is a current affairs commentator on This Morning (Picture: Rex)

I remember being warned about my natural hair when I did my first screen test. I had short, relaxed hair and I had waxed it, so it stood up and to the side. 

The editor said to me: ‘Ah yes, the screentest was great but you’re not going on air with your hair like that’. 

So many things rushed through my mind; questions like ‘what am I going to say? What can I say to that?’. 

I didn’t want it to knock my confidence, so I tried to brush it off, and focused on what I needed to do to be more ‘presentable’. I changed my hairstyle. I went years switching extensions and weaves, thinking that would allow me to be a successful newsreader. I thought that was the only way I was going to be allowed to be on TV.  

That was very surreal for me, but I got on with the job because I wanted to be there contributing to the news of the day, sharing stories, and telling people what’s important and what’s in the public interest.  

I later ended up going to QVC for three years. That was wild. I was told I was the first non-white female main presenter they had ever had in their 20-year history, and I was welcomed with open arms.  

I enjoyed my time there and I had a lot of fans and viewers who loved watching me. At this point, I really feel like I had started to make my mark and I did the job well. 

She makes regular appearances on the show alongside Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield (Picture: Rex)

It was a great team and there was quite a gap when I left before they had any other non-white main presenter on. Now they have two Black female presenters, Annaliese Dayes and Ophelia Dennis, which is fantastic.  

I remember feeling in some jobs, as the only non-white member of staff, that I had to persuade people that I could do the role because there had been no one there before me, or it had been a while since they had hired someone who wasn’t white. 

In my early career, it felt like people were constantly questioning whether I was going to be any good. 

That’s gone away a lot now – I think it was a symptom of the time – but it had a lasting impact on me. I doubted and second-guessed myself and felt like I was being watched; like everyone around me was waiting to see if I would trip up and make a mistake.  

While I don’t believe I have experienced outright racism in the industry, I think what I’ve experienced has been more subtle.  

I can’t remember who coined the phrase ‘from pet to threat’ about how everyone loves you when you first arrive but eventually, they are pushing you out the door. I’ve had two experiences like that and I removed myself from those situations both times. 

When I’ve been knocked down, I go away and lick my wounds a bit and then I get up again – but I’ve never let it stop me. It is horrible, but there are a lot of people who have had similar experiences across all manner of industries. 

Yet, whenever I reflect on how little support there is for Black presenters, people are shocked. I only encountered my first Black make-up artist last November, when I was on Steph’s Packed Lunch. 

Before then, I’d always been made up by white make-up artists.

It was especially bad in the early noughties. I could see the panic on the make-up artists’ faces as they knew they had no products for me. As a result, lots of my early clips show me looking really chalky and horrendous. 

Thankfully, all make-up artists today seem to be better equipped and more knowledgeable about shade matching. 

I’ve certainly had bad experiences during my career, but there’s been a lot to celebrate as well. 

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Recently, I was asked to present the news bulletins on Good Morning Britain on ITV. I got called two weeks before because a gap had come up in the schedule, and I was happy to help. It’s the most talked about breakfast television show in Britain and the team is outstanding. 

I just felt so welcomed and so looked after. When you are in that kind of environment, your job is made so much easier. I was proud every day.  

And I am overjoyed at the growing number of Black women on TV screens. I can’t help but smile when I see talented women like Oti Mabuse, AJ Odudu, Judi Love, Charlene White, and Alison Hammond. 

In the past, I’ve certainly felt like Black women have been told we’re not entertaining or authoritative enough to be heard. Sometimes it’s even seemed that way when I’ve been applying for jobs. 

Now I know that there are countless people who want to see Black people on their favourite shows – and I can’t wait to see what the kids watching these programmes will go on to do in the future. 

As told to Cydney Yeates.

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