TV star loves ‘normal work’
REALITY TV star Hayley Pearce – who shot to fame as “Hayley the Tea Lady” in BBC series The Call Centre – has revealed how she still holds down a “normal job” despite her ongoing television work, and refuses to take her life on screen for granted.
SHE shot to fame as one of the stars and most likeable characters on hit BBC series The Call Centre in 2013.
And since then Hayley the Tea Lady – real name Hayley Pearce – has certainly been busy.
She’s taken part in lots of other TV projects – and still makes a mean brew.
Her latest series, Hayley Goes, sees the presenter take a look at the issues at the heart of people’s lives in 21st-century society, from phone addiction to gym obsession. But Hayley, who lives in Maesteg, still works at a call centre in between her TV schedule and says people are shocked when they find out she has a normal job.
“Just because you are on TV, people think you’re minted – some people are shocked when I tell them I still work in a call centre,” she said.
“Their face drops when I tell them where I work.
I’m blessed that I still have both.
“You can’t just rely on TV work. It isn’t guaranteed. You got to do what you got to do.”
Former EastEnders star Katie Jarvis recently revealed she was “hurt and embarrassed” for being “made to feel ashamed for having a normal job”.
She was pictured during a break from her job as a security guard at bargain store B&M in Romford, east London, earlier this month.
“You can’t win these days – she would get slated for not working and being on the dole,” Hayley said.
“It’s hard getting a job in between filming. Sometimes you are waiting for your next gig, you don’t know if you are going to have another series.
“It can be humiliating. If you are in the public eye, people will come up to you and ask, ‘What are you doing now?’ It can make you feel anxious, especially if you are not on TV any more.
“I’m lucky that I’ve worked in TV since The Call Centre days and I do my own shows. However, if that day comes where I’ve got nothing happening I know I have got my job at a call centre.
“A job is a job and you shouldn’t be ashamed of where you work.”
The fly-on-the-wall documentary that started Hayley’s TV career focused on the Swanseabased call centre run by Neville “Nev” Wilshire.
She and Nev were the show’s break-out stars.
Hayley, 29, will be filming the fourth series of Hayley Goes until March 2020. On days where she is not filming, she works at life insurance agency Zen Life Review in Swansea.
“I am not filming all the time,” she said. “I’m lucky that my boss is flexible and is out of this world.
“I hate the phrase ‘normal job’ – I am just a normal person who is fortunate enough to work in TV. I have always been humble and I am not different from anyone else. It could all end tomorrow.”