A Cbeebies presenter has pulled back the brightly coloured curtain of children’s television, as he reveals that there’s a dark side to the job.
BBC star Ben Cajee has loved kids TV ever since his fifth birthday card was read out by Phillipa Forrester in 1992.
But now after six years in the helm, the 32-year-old has opened up about the challenging aspects of the so-called dream job.
The presenter admitted that times have got so tough that he could be found: “ ‘listening to emo music, trying not to cry your eyes out over the dried pasta you had for dinner’ as he says that being on television is not always as glamorous as people assume.
He said: “’I’ll save the deep, dark, philosophical stuff for the memoirs, but there’s an expectation that when you’re on national television every day of your life, you’re living like Dwayne The Rock Johnson in(fast cars, fast women and mountains of cash)’.
While dressing up in silly costumes and joshing with Mr Tumble might look like fun, Ben also says that the telly gig comes with a punishing work schedule.
He told The Independent: “.It’s hard because in the first two years on the channel, I did more than 400 studio days – and nobody is that happy, all of the time. ‘being a presenter is hard because it’s graft’.
Cricket-loving Ben had no plans to work in television but was scouted while working in a sport development role for the international cricket council as she tried to increase interest in the sport. Soon he found himself swapping the suited Lords Cricket Ground attire for colourful costumes and rainbow T-shirts, but the days were long and grueling.
Now Ben has gone freelance, branching out into other presenting work, as he hosted Blue Peter and also produced a radio documentary about being mixed race which ended up getting a shout out from Gary Linekar on Match of the Day.
This festive season Ben will star in his first pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk at theatre Cymru opposite former soap star Jennifer Ellison.
But Ben says he still worries about about securing the next contract as he admits that living paycheck to paycheck can be an anxious existence.
Last month former Hollyoaks star Gemma Atkinson revealed that her Cbeebies show, The Toddler Club, had been cancelled after three series on air.
