'Can't quite believe it, but I won.' Probably not the most eloquently constructed sentence I've ever written, but it's going to rank up there as one of my favourites!

It's been a long and difficult journey to get to this point, and not just the last 20 yards in my gold six inch sandals!.. I wasn't expecting to win, the other two finalists had completed some superb work in the past year and were fantastic finalists. So, I nearly choked on my truffle when they announced my name as winner, my first thought was, 'Oh my god, I've got to go up on stage!'

Picked up my award from Dara O'Brien, had my picture taken, then lugged the hefty beast (the award, not Dara) back to the table, and my half eaten truffle.

PRWeek Editor, Danny Rogers said: 'Vikki Rimmer has worked magic for her clients, achieving results even they hadn't expected'. Ta Danny!

PRWeek said: 'Rimmer will have been a freelancer for three years in January, but she has already made her significant mark in the UK PR freelance market. Rimmer dismisses money as the factor driving her PR career, preferring to cite 'creativity and engagement' instead. She is indeed an inspiration for the UK's very best PR practitioners.'

Maria Boyle and Amanda Johnson were both Highly Commended by PRWeek for their outstanding work this year.

Al Gore won Communicator of The Year 2007. (Gutted I never got to meet Al!)

Battling a horrid bout of the flu, the beginning of October started out as the worst month of the year for Press Contact. It ain't easy being freelance when you've got a temperature and full on 'Man Flu'. However, all the aches and pains receeded into the background when I learnt last week that I'd been selected as a finalist for Freelance Achievement 2007 by the 21st Annual PR Week Awards.

It's a huge achievement for me to get this far. Recognition from the industry means so much. Working on your own at home, you can sometimes wonder if you're 'doing it right'.

I think I'm supposed to add this to the bottom of my correspondence now: Vikki Rimmer, Finalist PRWeek Awards 2007........... We'll see.

She cud have stayed at home. But she thawt she shud go. Retired English teacher Masha Bell, from Dorset, will travel to Washington DC to picket the American National Spelling Bee this week. Bell is fighting for words such as "could", "cough" and "should" to be spelt the way they sound - that is, "cud", "coff" and "shud". She intends to stand outside with placards reading "enuf is enuf" and "we are thru with through". "Because of the way we spell, millions of English speakers have trouble learning to read, let alone spell," Bell argues. Enuf sed.


Press & Publicity: Vikki@presscontact.co.uk

The Simplified Spelling Society were in the news again in the last week of May as they congregated at the Scripps' Spelling Bee competition to protest the problems inherent in the English spelling system.

The Times covered the picket and their piece on line was one of the most forwarded of the day.
Masha Bell from Dorset caught the attention of the media and made an appearance on GMTV, live from Washington.
Masha and the other picketers, from around the globe also caught the attention of CNN and ABC.

Print media in America is obsessed yearly with the competition, but this year the focus wasn't solely on the competitors; column inches were also devoted to the Simplified Spelling Society and American Literacy Council picket outside the competition.

The LA Times, San Francisco Times and The Guardian (UK) covered the event.

Allan Campbell was feted in his home country of New Zealand too, on line at 'Stuff'.

In the UK, local based radio stations in Birmingham and the Solent covered Masha Bell's trip, Masha also appeared on BBC Radio Five Live.

17 May 2007 20:09 Home > News > Media
Natasha Desborough: My Life in Media


Natasha Desborough, 32, is the voice of BBC 6 Music and presents the station's weekend breakfast show. She worked on local radio and football station Crystal Palace FM before joining Xfm in 2000. She joined the BBC three years ago and has also worked as a voiceover artist on Five's Real Sex and California Escorts. She lives in Croydon with her partner Jim and their baby son, Oscar.


So what inspired you to embark on a career in the media?I actually intended to build a career in film, but after a few horrible jobs as a runner I decided that I wasn't cut out for the industry. Chance led me to radio presenting. I made a production demo, which I sent to all the radio stations I could think of hoping for some production work, and a controller came back and offered me a stint on the breakfast show on Invicta FM in Kent. There was one snag - I had to start the next day, and I'd be presenting.

When you were 15 years old, which newspaper did your family get, and did you read it?My parents always got The Times but at 15 I was more interested in Smash Hits.

And what were your favourite TV and radio programmes?I religiously recorded the Radio 1 Chart Show every Sunday. My favourite TV programme of all time was and still is Moonlighting. Currently the only programmes I can't bear to miss are Desperate Housewives and Shameless.

Describe your job
I'm lucky to have such a varied job because every day is different. Little bits of TV, a voiceover here and there and a splash of writing, but my bread and butter is my weekend breakfast show on BBC 6 Music.

What media do you turn to first thing in the morning?GMTV's News Hour until 7am and then straight on with the radio while I'm getting breakfast ready.

Do you consult any media sources during the working day?I check all the papers online in the morning, but we avoid the grown-up papers. At the weekend we use all the red tops for the show - the Daily Mirror, The Sun, the News of the World and The People. I check Digital Spy, Reuters, Pop Bitch and Ananova for the gossip and BBC News.

What is the best thing about your job?
I love my job. I feel like the luckiest person in the world. Mick and Rowan who produce my show are such good fun and it's great that the time slot fits so perfectly around my son. I can be mummy during the week and retain a sense of independence at the weekend.

And the worst?
The schmoozing. I rarely attend work-related dos. The radio industry is incredibly incestuous and it can be a big help to socialise out of hours. But I'm quite shy at times and I find those situations terrifying so I do my best to avoid them. I've often wondered if it has held me back in my career. I think it probably has.

How do you feel you influence the media?I'm not so arrogant as to believe that I have much influence. I'm just a neurotic mum from Croydon who witters on and plays music. However, I do believe that 6 Music as a radio station has a massive influence on the music industry.

What's the proudest achievement of your working life?After an 18-month break from radio, my boyfriend Jim and I had a lot of financial worries and had lost all confidence in my abilities as a radio broadcaster. Then suddenly, in the same week that I discovered I was pregnant with my first child, Lesley Douglas and Ric Blaxill offered me the 6 Music weekend breakfast show. I was both grateful and petrified. My hormones were all over the place and my confidence was at an all-time low. Getting back in the driver's seat is something I'm still proud of.

And what's your most embarrassing moment?Oh crikey, there are too many to mention. But calling a Channel 4 executive "Dad" in a crucial meeting ranks pretty highly. (I was tired and premenstrual.)

At home, what do you tune in to?
Usually it's Terry Wogan for breakfast, Vanessa Feltz on BBC London 94.9 from nine then back to Radio 2 for Jeremy Vine. Then it's Nemone on BBC 6 Music, then Danny Baker on BBC London and then Radio 4 for the comedy. My favourite show of the past few years was Iain Lee's drivetime show on LBC.

Who in the media do you most admire and why?Jo Brand. I like the way she's conducted her career and maintained a normal, private family life. She's endured a lot of criticism for being outspoken and intelligent but the insults just seem to make her funnier and cleverer. Plus she supports Crystal Palace FC! And I've always admired Lesley Douglas because she has built a career in a male-dominated industry and she's now the most powerful person in radio.

The CV

1995: Works as a runner on films and pop promos before moving into radio production at Croydon FM

1997: Moves to Crystal Palace's station

1999: Becomes a presenter at Kent's Invicta FM and soon bags a spot on Xfm presenting her own show

2000: Presents Xfm's Breakfast Session with co-presenters including Iain Lee and Ian Camfield

2003: Presents the weekend show with Jimmy Carr

2004: Becomes the voice of 6 Music, recording all their links and announcements

2005: Gets her own show, Natasha's 6 Music Weekend Breakfast Show, and becomes the voice of The A-List music chart

Article placed by Vikki Rimmer/Press Contact

From The Sunday Times May 13, 2007
Going for a song
Natasha Desborough on Till I Die by the Beach Boys

I was introduced to the Beach Boys’ 1971 album Surf’s Up by a boy I fancied at sixth-form college. At the time, I was heavily into the Stone Roses, and thought the Beach Boys were a bunch of Californian beach bums who had an unhealthy obsession with surfing and cars, and sang like girls.

Anyway, in an effort to impress the boy in question, I agreed to listen to the album. I took Surf’s Up home with me and discovered a fabulous record, with tracks including the magical title track, the drug-influenced Feel Flows and Bruce Johnston’s Disney Girls.


But the track that really touched me was Till I Die, a poignant, heartbreaking song written by Brian Wilson some years before, when he was in the middle of a breakdown. The song has incredible richly layered harmonies, yet the melody remains humble. Band member Mike Love thought it was too depressing to be a Beach Boys song, and wouldn’t let it be featured on any earlier album. What a ninny. I fell head over heels in love – with the track, that is – and “accidentally” never gave the record back. I ended up avoiding the boy in question rather than return his album.

I was lucky enough to see Wilson perform live a few years ago at the Festival Hall, and was moved to tears. He looked so delicate perched behind his keyboard. His voice was fragile, but still held the emotion of an inconsolable romantic. And it was clear to every person in the audience that this was a man who was still battling relentless inner demons. I could blame my emotional state on the three glasses of chardonnay I’d drunk before the concert. But although that might have contributed, the fact remains that as Wilson began to perform Till I Die, I started crying hysterically, and didn’t stop until the end of the show.

I spend my working life playing music on the radio and, although I have a deep passion for my job, there aren’t many other songs that can move me to tears. Certain pieces of music, such as the Fanfare to the film Rocky and children’s choirs singing Away in a Manger at Christmas, can make me blub, but nothing gets my lip quivering like Till I Die. It captures perfectly that feeling of being small and insignificant in relation to the universe, something everyone can relate to: “I’m a cork on the ocean/ Floating over the raging sea / How deep is the ocean? / How deep is the ocean?”

Knowing the state of Wilson’s mind when he wrote the song makes the lyrics seem even more haunting. But I think everyone has felt like that at some time in their life. And, although the lyrics show a man dwarfed by the vastness of the world and obsessed with death, the melody is surprisingly hopeful and uplifting. I don’t find it a depressing song, though it’s certainly thought-provoking.

Natasha Desborough is the presenter of BBC 6 Music’s Weekend Breakfast Show

Article placed in The Sunday Times by Vikki Rimmer/Press Contact