Jesse lands dream job, despite chronic illness
Student Jesse Pye hasn’t even completed her degree yet, but she’s already landed her “dream job” on MTV’s hit reality show Geordie Shore.
Following her success on the show’s production team, she has also been involved in other popular programmes including Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me.
Jesse, who’s in her third year studying Screen Performanceat the University of Sunderland, said :“Geordie Shore has been a dream and I couldn’ t have asked asked for a more welcoming crew.
"Giving me a chance in a professional shoot and being willing to take time to show me the ropes, trusting me with jobs imperative to the shoot, looking after the cast and then logging the cast for the edit has given me all the entry level skills I need to start working in the industry properly and I haven’t been short of work since.
“Off the back of Geordie Shore, I’ve worked on Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me, a Channel 4 blue light documentary, a Channel 5 DIY programme and I’ve even had to turn some work down – which is incredible.”
Jesse’s achievements are even more remarkable when balanced with her studies, part-time job at the Empire Theatre and ongoing health problems including ulcerative colitis and fibromyalgia – which cause her chronic pain and extreme fatigue.
The 28-year-old said: “It gets in the way of my day-today life. You don’t know when it will hit you.
"One minute I can be feeling great with no issues and then the next morning I’m taking strong painkillers and sleeping all day.
“I’d networked quite a bit and managed to get an agent, but I was terrified having a chronic illness would put me on some sort of‘ hard work list ’.”
However it was an online pep talk from Coronation Street star Cherylee Houston, who plays Izzy in the iconic soap, that gave Jesse the confidence to overcome her condition. Cherylee has been using a wheelchair since the age of 23 when she was diagnosed with the chronic condition EhlersDanlos syndrome.
Jesse added :“Cheryleeg ave
me ideas on how to still use my bad days to be productive, learn scripts, work on my characters and be the best I can be to my limits.
“Being able to relate to Cherylee on a level I haven’t found with other actors was really inspiring. She’ s doing what I want to do and she’s doing it while suffering in a similar way.
Geordie Shore: Hot Single Summer returned to our screens earlier this month, and Jesse played a pivotal role in transcribing and logging hours of footage to be used in the editing process.
Rebecca Leigh, production coordinator at Lime Pictures,
the company behind Geordie Shore, said: “Jesse has been a vital part of the production team this series and a pleasure to work with.
“She’s friendly, hardworking, organised and great with talent. We’ve loved having her on the team and can always rely on her to get a job done well, to a really high standard.
"She has a very bright future ahead of her in television and I hope to work with her again soon on some television projects.”
While enjoying her role behind the camera, Jesse would one day like to work as an actoron the other side of the lens.