‘To get ahead, trust your instincts’ says ‘Strictly’ creator

Starting as a secretary at Bush House in London, the former headquarters of the BBC, it was only nine years later that Lush was given her big break, when two women who headed her team put her forward for a promotion. “They went to their boss, who said: ‘Yes, you can give Jane a three-month attachment, but don’t let her think she is ever going to get a proper promotion because she isn’t.”

Jane Lush (right) and Badannie Gee (Photo: the JLC)[Missing Credit]

After proving herself in production, Lush climbed up the ranks of the corporation to become controller of BBC daytime in 1998, where she brought in hits including The Weakest Link and Bargain Hunt.

In 2002, she became controller of entertainment and comedy, commissioning some of the UK’s most popular series, including Strictly Come Dancing, The Apprentice and Dragons’ Den. Along the way, she discovered some of TV’s most popular presenters, including Graham Norton, the late Jill Dando, Anne Robinson and Kirsty Young.

During the conversation at JW3 with fellow producer Badannie Gee, Lush recalled the meeting where Strictly was first discussed. “At our weekly brainstorm, someone on our team called Fenia Vardanis said: ‘Why don’t we do Come Dancing with celebrities?’ And I just thought it was a brilliant idea. I imagined a panel of judges holding paddles and said: ‘Why don’t we pair the celebrities with professional dancers?’ So, we pitched the idea to Lorraine Heggessey, the then controller of BBC1 and got in some professional dancers, who pranced around the room. Luckily, Lorraine completely got it.”

The programme, which has hit the headlines recently as speculation surrounds who will replace long-time presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, is widely regarded as the most successful reality TV format in the world, having been sold to over 60 countries.

Lush credits her intuition for recognising the show’s winning formula. “You do always have to go with your instinct. It doesn’t mean it’s always going to be right, but it’s the best thing you’ve got. TV comes from the heart, not the head.”

She also paid tribute to the two women who had given her a career break. “If someone hadn’t given me a chance, I wouldn’t have had a career… If you give somebody who is not expecting it to be given a break, and you say to them: ‘Why don’t you go out and direct this film?’, they’re going to do their utmost, really work the hardest.”

Participants at the JLC's 'Give to Gain' International Women's Day event (Photo: the JLC)[Missing Credit]

During Lush’s own career, she helped give a step up to female colleagues, including S.J. Clarkson, who started as her PA and went on to become a successful TV and film director of shows including Ugly Betty and Succession.

Despite being at the top of her game, later becoming chair of BAFTA, Lush recalled the stage-fright she felt one year, shortly before going on stage at the awards ceremony. “An assistant floor manager said: ‘Don’t lean on the lectern because it’s not fixed. We have to move it as we have Circle du Soleil coming on after you.’ So, I immediately had this vision of leaning on it and inadvertently landing in Meryl Streep’s lap.”

While she said her “proudest productions” were her children and her grandchildren, when asked how she had managed to balance one of the biggest jobs in TV with the demands of motherhood, Lush replied: “Nobody ever asks a father how they combine their work with being a parent. But we don’t live in an idea world, and I think [I managed] by never really thinking ahead more than a day at a time. I think if I had really thought about how it was going to work, I think it would have been too overwhelming.”

She added: “Perhaps it’s a form of self-defence, but I always say to my children: ‘They’d have loved me less if they had seen me more.’”

Discussing her prolific charity work, which includes being a trustee of Youth Aliyah, Lush shared how she had raised money for medical research as her daughter suffers from a condition which affects her kidneys.

When Lush commissioned Fame Academy, she set up a Fame Academy Bursary, which supported music students. She revealed: “We also gave musical instruments to children who were promising, and one of those children was Adele. We gave her an electronic keyboard.”

Asked what words of advice she would now give to someone looking for their big break, Lush who now runs a production company with Gee, told guests: “Always say yes. When actors are asked: ‘Can you ride a horse?’, they say yes when they can’t. Always say yes because if you can’t, you’ll learn how.”