AS the youth voice of television channel E4, introducing hit shows such as "Hollyoaks", "Glee" and "Made in Chelsea", Kelsey Bennett says she has to pinch herself on a daily basis.
The former Culloden Academy pupil is not only the youngest voice on the channel but is also the only Scottish voice, something which makes her very proud.
"This industry is unbelievably competitive so I’m extremely grateful," said the 23-year-old, who grew up in Edgemoor Park, Balloch, where her parents Aileen and Alex still live.
Despite being involved in theatre and arts from a young age, Miss Bennett decided to study speech and language therapy at the University of Strathclyde after leaving school. She graduated last July but struggled to find work.
"I actually went over to Belgium for six months to work as a speech and language therapist and got back in January," she said. "The job market is so terrible and I had to look at all the options which is why I started looking into performing, which is an even more unstable job market."
Determined to add more strings to her bow, she found out about a voice-over workshop held by Channel 4 announcer Gary Terrza in London and went along.
Discovering she had passion and a natural flair for voice-over work, Miss Bennett applied for a job at the BBC in April.
She did not get it but impressed bosses so much they recommended her to E4, which was looking for freelance voice-overs.
"I was called down to the E4 studios in London for a three-day audition where we had to do our own scripting which involved watching television," she said. "The next two days we pre-recorded some of the shows.
"It was nerve racking."
In what turned out to be a very good week, Miss Bennett was not only offered the E4 job, but a part-time job as a speech and language therapist in London.
"I thought E4 might not choose me because I sound too young but they were looking for a young voice and they wanted people to sound natural," she said.
"I was so shocked when I was picked out of all the people. It was very exciting."
She decided to take both jobs and moved to London in September, working two days a week as a therapist and three days a week as the youth voice of E4.
She not only has to watch television programmes like "Hollyoaks", "The Big Bang Theory" and "Made in Chelsea", and make her own script, she also had to do her voice-overs live on air.
"It’s quite long hours and can be mentally demanding but I’m very happy at the moment," she said.
One day she would like to follow in the footsteps of former E4 announcer Peter Dickson, who is now the voice behind "The X Factor", and Dave Lamb, who provides commentary for "Come Dine With Me".
"To be known for my voice countrywide would be amazing," she said.
Her advice to graduates looking for a job is don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
"It’s very difficult at the moment within the job market for graduates and I would say try and look outside the box as this is where it has led me," she added.
