Bounce Magazine October 2017

OCTOBER 2017 OCTOBER | ISSUE 2017 #60 | ISSUE | JONNY #60 NELSON
to me. After some ruminating I decided the
best way forward was to do something open
ended, where essentially the purpose was to
communicate, and that’s all anything is in this
game anyway.
R: Do you feel this degree helped you with
your career?
and he convinced me to go see my mum one
week, a couple of weeks later my dog died,
and I wouldn’t have seen him if I hadn’t gone.
Don’t worry, my mum was fine.
You are set to co-present the new “Saturday
Mash-Up!” What can we look forward to from
the show?
Sure, going back to the communicating thing,
just having a feel for asking questions and
engaging people on different subjects has
helped me a lot. Also, spending three years
studying news from all over the world and
even different times in history helps to put a
lot into perspective, what’s important and how
people want to be talked to.
That said, I think my best training came from
watching a lot of TV in the first place and then
making local TV. If you find yourself as a 22
year old, rocking up to flowers shows, tractor
pulling championships and food festivals,
knowing that your average audience is three
times your age and that you have to somehow
convince them that you know what you’re
talking about (predominantly in the rain)
that’s how you learn how to be a TV presenter.
Old school.
R: You’ve interviewed some fantastic people
from movie directors to A-listers, which one
has been your favourite and most memorable
interview to date?
It’s hard to pick a favourite, but a few of the
best include Ricky Gervais and Bill Nighy, two
very genuine, very interesting and hilarious
fellas. The tag-team of Sir Michael Caine and
Morgan Freeman also deserve a mention
who, despite being two of the biggest cinema
legends of all time, were complete gents.
At the risk of going on, I’d throw in Phil Neville
too. We worked together a few times last year
Honestly, I’m not even sure yet, but I’m
presuming madness! We’re bringing back a
lot of the staples of Saturday morning live
TV, so there’ll be music, sketches, special
guests, competitions, live phone-ins and of
course gunging... finally! Personally I’m looking
forward to the moments everything goes
wrong, I used to watch that happen as a kid
and absolutely revel in it.
When does it start?
9am, Saturday the 30 th of September. Set your
alarms!
What does it feel like to be bringing back a
Live Children’s TV Programme? Did you ever
see yourself presenting a children’s show?
In short no, haha. Children’s TV has historically
been a breeding ground for new presenters,
after that there was T4 for a while, but by the
time I got going, the days of the chaos of Live
and Kicking and SMTV seemed long gone.
It actually wasn’t until the producers asked
me why I’d want to do it that I actually knew
myself, and that’s because there’s just nothing
like it, anywhere.
Live Saturday morning TV was always either
brilliant, full of disasters, or both, which is why
it was worth watching, and that suits me down
to the ground.
R: I have to confess I have a soft spot for
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