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Channel 4 gig represents a new career high for Sabrina Grant – but the sky is the limit
SABRINA GRANT says she has learned a lot since pairing up with Anna Richardson to co-host Channel 4’s hit show Supershoppers – but her biggest lesson so far has been how to keep her money in her purse.
It has been a long road for Grant to land her plum-presenting job, and despite having been in and around production sets for the last five years working in a freelance capacity, she admits to being in her infancy where being on screen is concerned.
Eager to learn and progress Grant, described by Channel 4 as a “fresh-faced addition” to the current ‘Supershoppers’ series, told The Voice that Richardson had taught her a lot since she landed the role.
“This is such a big gig for me – I think learning and understanding more the craft of presenting and story telling (has been the biggest lesson),” said Grant. “I want to achieve longevity in my career. I’m really enjoying this process now and I’m not worried about what’s going to
happen later. I’m really living through each moment.
“The most fun part is working with my co-presenter Anna Richardson. She is such good fun, she really makes me laugh, and she has been so supportive to me as a newcomer in the industry. We just have fun on set and I think that’s so important.”
She continued: “I have a production background and I know everyone’s role, which helps me get on with the whole crew, understanding that I’m no better than anyone else. Yes, there is a lot of pressure on you, but it takes a team, a family – and that’s something Anna is all about.”
Talking about her journey, Grant said that she was encouraged to be a jack of all trades in school, but has always yearned to be a presenter. “I’ve been working in TV for the last five years, and previous to that I studied theatre performance and media at the BRIT school in Croydon, and then I went on to do a degree at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, north London,” she said.
“Presenting is always something that I wanted to do, but at school I was encouraged to be a bit more of an all-rounder. Since graduating, I started touring in a few shows, but then I got to a point when I realised that presenting is actually what I wanted to do – so I put together a show reel and sent it out to a lot of agents.”
Once Grant realised her true calling, the days of stints working as a promotions girl at the local tube station and dinner lady at primary schools were over – it was time to get serious. “I bothered all of my friends who I knew were in the media, and I managed to get a job as a runner on Britain’s Got Talent,” Grant said.
“Since then I have been able to work in TV. I’ve worked my way up through production to a researcher level and then I met a stylist and ended up assisting her, and from there, I never looked back. After being on loads of sets and meeting loads of presenters, it made me think, ‘This is what I want to do’, so that was when I updated my showreel, and was lucky to land John Noel Management, who I believe to be the best agents in the business.”
Grant’s rise and rise has seen her garner plaudits from a cross section of influential voices in the business, most of whom are impressed with the natural way she has brought her own style to the ‘Supershoppers’ show.
Commissioning editor Dorothy Byrne said: “Sabrina is a great addition to the programme; a stylish and savvy shopper who knows how to spot a dud bargain.” For those who don’t watch the show, Supershoppers is a consumer programme which combines features, satire and investigative journalism to look at how and why we buy what we buy.
Channel 4 re-commissioned four 30-minute episodes with two hour-long specials of the BAFTA Scotland and RTS Scotland awards-winning programme, of which the last episode in series four airs on Monday (December 18), before returning with a special episode on December 27 at 8pm.
Looking forward, Grant says having started her foray in the world of television on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, it would be a dream to end up presenting on the show one day. “I came from the BRIT School and I was surrounded by amazing talent every single day, and I thrive off of other people’s talent – that’s where it all started for me,” said Grant.
“I have a huge admiration for other people’s talent and their hard work, so shows like ‘The Voice’ or ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ would be great shows to present.” Before those heady mile- stones are achieved, however, Grant says she will be putting some other lessons into practice.
“This show has taught me how not to get ripped off with my money,” she said. “I have learned how not to get drawn into marketing ploys and to be savvy with my money. I’m like all of us – I like to spend money, I love shopping and get a real buzz from it, but that has been curbed.”
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