Welcome to Uni-versal Extras

I signed up with UVE for SA work when I retired and my first role was as a theatre goer in Eternal Return. We were to bring our own costumes (we were paid extra for this) and I picked a bright outfit with a big necklace. The base was on a showground outside the small town where they were filming. There they checked our outfits, swapping out any unsuitable for the scene and did our hair and makeup, before we piled into a minibus for the ride into town. The location was a little Victorian theatre and we were playing the audience to a solo musical performance. The set dressers liked something about my outfit and kept moving me into shot, so I may get a glimpse of my contribution; who knows? It isn’t guaranteed but it’s always an adventure. We were well looked after; good food and a warm place to wait between shots, which was often quite a while as they moved all the equipment around for a different angle. I got to meet lots of interesting people and share a space with famous actors while they and the director crafted the scene. It was all new to me and quite an experience!

I was an extra playing the part of an audience member. I couldn’t believe my luck to be in a scene with Kiefer Sutherland, Danny Dyer, Jason Manford and Mawaan Rizman. It was one of the best experiences of my life and the build-up to watching it to see if you made the final cut is so exciting. My children were so proud of me and to watch it back and see that I did make it – and Mawaan delivers a line to me – is a thrill that will last me a life time!

I feel very lucky that I signed up to be an extra for a bit of fun and managed to get one of my favourite jobs I’ve ever had – being a stand in for both characters ‘Shen Shen’ and ‘ Miss Coddle’ which lasted a year exactly to the day. I’m used to being behind the scenes in the workshops making costume for film but we’re not often involved on set once our costumes leave the room. It was a nice change to experience the other side of film work! (Especially being a musical it was an amazing experience to watch all the dancers and scenes come together. They were definitely the best sets I’ve ever seen and I got to work on them with the best group of fellow stand ins). Thank you, Uni-versal Extras

I’ve had the chance to be part of 3 BBC dramas, and even featured in the Adidas x Newcastle advert, which was an amazing experience. I’ve genuinely enjoyed every job I’ve done & always look forward to the next opportunity. I’d definitely recommend UVE to anyone wanting to get involved in film, TV or adverts.

I have been so very lucky! My first S.A. experience has been 8 days on Series 6 of All Creatures Great & Small; I just saw myself in a close-up last night. Every single person involved in the process was absolutely lovely. Hopeful for more interesting adventures with UVE!