Lights, camera, action!

The episode, broadcast in the UK last month, featured a courtroom scene in which a stenographer was present. Instead of simply using an actor, the production company decided it needed the real thing, even asking the reporter, Sarah Seys Llewellyn, to bring along her own writing machine.

“They wanted someone who wasn’t camera shy, and I was interested in doing something a bit different,” explains Sarah. “Also I think I was the only volunteer!”

Filming began at 8am at the Royal Courts of Justice. But while the surroundings were familiar, the rest of the experience didn’t go quite how Sarah had anticipated.

“I expected everything to be much faster, and dare I say it, a bit more glamorous,” she reveals. “Instead, they asked me to wear my darkest, most boring suit, and I spent all morning waiting for my big moment. After lunch they called me in – I set up my stenography machine as normal and pretended to take down the proceedings, which involved some of the show’s key characters.”

But Sarah’s five minutes of fame did have some upsides, including free make up and a new hairdo. She also met other extras working on the show, many of whom appear regularly in other BBC soaps and dramas, as well as in advertisements.

“It was fascinating to see how a programme like Holby City, with a relatively big budget, is made,” Sarah says. “I got a quick glimpse into the world of acting, although at around ten hours the shoot actually lasted longer than most court sittings.”

So is Sarah tempted to leave the word of court reporting to pursue a career in acting?

“Definitely not,” she says. “I’ve only just finished my training and have just spent my second week at the Old Bailey. Real life’s much more dramatic than Holby City!”

Sarah’s starring role was arranged via WordWave’s Media, Broadcasting and Communications department, which provides a range of services to production companies, television broadcasters and news organisations.

To find out more about these services, which include real-time reporting, transcription, Speech to Text, subtitling and live court broadcasting, contact Sarah Lowe at: sarah.lowe@wordwave.co.uk