I'm at Wimbledon - how did that happen?

The time of year when my 'inner child' gets giddy with excitement

It is day 1 of Wimbledon, which marks the start of what has always been the most important fortnight of my year. You see, for as long as I can remember, I have been obsessed with the Championships.

I can tell you exactly who won, who they beat in the final and most of the scores from every singles final in the Open Era (post 1968). If you asked me what I wanted to do when I was about 10 years old, I would have immediately said ‘work at Wimbledon’. And here I am. I sometimes have to remind myself how cool that is.

The first time I filmed the official tournament highlights piece for BBC TV that went out before the men’s final was in 2019. I was sat in the production office, with the likes of my childhood hero Boris Becker (before his run in with HMRC) and Sue Barker, and nearly shed a tear as I watched it go out on the telly, with a subtle sense of wonder as to how things had panned out.

As I reflect back, there have been several key moments along the way, all of them incredibly fortuitous, but there’s one I want to focus on.

In 2017, I had been covering the Championships for ten years. First for Radio Wimbledon for three years from 2007, and then BBC Radio 1 from 2010. In 2016 and 2017 I recorded a lot of the digital videos, back when Facebook Lives were a thing.

And at the end of the 2017 Championships, I made a promise to myself. I was going to get a job as a reporter for BBC TV at the following year’s Championships, or p*ss the bosses off so much trying that I would have to leave the BBC.

My Dad has a saying I like, which is ‘the squeaky wheel gets fixed’. That just means you need to make noise if you are going to get what you want.

So I harangued the head of BBC Sport for the whole year between the 2017 and 2018 Championships, proposing ideas and generally being a somewhat irritating. Every time I pressed send on an email, I felt sure this was the one that would lead to me being barred from contacting him once and for all.

But that never happened. Nor did I get told that the job was mine however.

And so on day 1 of the 2018 Championships, six years ago, I walked up to the BBC TV production office determined to have one last throw of the dice. I was armed with two cornetto ice creams, one for the BBC boss and another for his number 2.

The ice-creams had the desired effect. I was given a chance to record a few features, and that was it. I had my foot in the door, and thereafter prized it open. I’ve been part of the team ever since.

And so that’s why I always remind myself of the importance of burning the boats, as only when I have really pushed myself has the magic happened. It’s like life needs me to at least meet it half way, and then it does the rest.

So if you happen to see or hear me on your telly over the next fortnight, just know that I am bloody grateful. And take it from me, sometimes you have to chance you arm and make a pest of yourself if you are going to experience something you’ll remember when your old and very grey. Sod it - what’s the worst that can happen?