As one of Australia’s most beloved TV and radio presenters, Carrie Bickmore’s career has had some incredible highlights.
But back when she was a young journalist, Carrie had a moment that made her consider quitting the media industry and reveals the person who convinced her to stick it out.
Speaking to journalist Rachel Corbet on her podcast You’ve Gotta Start Somewhere, Carrie revealed that she spent her school holidays going to work with her dad Brian Bickmore at Austereo in Adelaide sitting under the desk drawing and watching the announcers.
“From a young age, I must have known that’s [journalism] what I wanted to do,” she revealed.
After doing work experience at Perth’s 92.9 at 19 years-old, Carrie moved on to Melbourne’s Nova, where she started on her 21st birthday. It wasn’t long before she was announcing the drive news with Andy Ross and the two began their own show aptly named, The Andy and Carrie Drive Show.
“I absolutely loved it. But now that I look back, I realise I was completely unprepared for it and probably actually wasn’t very good at it,” Carrie described the experience.
Carrie wanted to be a journalist since she was in year seven when she dressed up as one for school. Because all journalists wear berets, right?
(Image: Instagram @bickmorecarrie)Their show went to number one, but Carrie recounted that when she and Andy were pulled in to a meeting, she “arrogantly” thought they were getting a pay rise when in fact the show ended up getting pulled off the air.
“I remember being so devastated and I was just like ‘What do you mean? I thought the point was to get to number one?’ but the point is to make a good show.”
But there was one person who guided her through the experience.
“I remember my dad saying to me, ‘It’s the industry! This is going to happen multiple times in your career. Put your head down, go back in there, don’t sulk, keeping working hard and you watch, things will swing around,'” Carrie said.
“So I did that and a few months later I got offered the job on ‘Rove’. It’s taken me probably until recently to turn around and say to Dad, ‘You were right.’ He was right.”
Carrie’s been on the Project panel since it started in 2009.
(Image: Instagram @bickmorecarrie)From then, Carrie went on to read the news bulletin on Rove Live before joining the panel of The Project which she has been a star of for 10 years.
“I remember in the depths of despair thinking ‘I’m leaving the industry!’ but I actually think it was a really good thing that it happened because I wasn’t ready and it meant I had to build up some other skills before I came back to the position to do something like that again,” Carrie said of the experience.
And we are so grateful she didn’t quit, the TV personality went on to win the 2015 Gold Logie and just this year was awarded an Order of Australia Medal.
WATCH: Carrie Bickmore’s touching speech at the 2015 TV WEEK Logie Awards. Post continues after video…
Carrie has certainly come a long way since The Project first started.
The show will celebrate it’s official 10 year anniversary this week but in January when the 10 Year Challenge was taking off, the Carrie and Tommy Show shared a throwback of Carrie in 2009 and 2019.
Never change Carrie, we love you!
10 years on: Carrie Bickmore has been at The Project since the get-go.
(Image: Instagram @carrietommyshow)
