Vanessa Feltz has admitted that launching her own YouTube channel has been a daunting experience, telling GB News in an exclusive interview that the venture represents a series of firsts in her career.
“It’s a bit scary, but it’s also you know, quite exciting,” she said when asked about the new online show, At Home With Vanessa. “It’s always exciting at any age to do something you’ve never done before. Risky, yes, but but exciting, yes.”
Speaking via NetBet Casino, the broadcaster revealed she has never previously owned a company, hired employees or managed a business, having spent her entire career working for others.
Her channel’s early performance has been encouraging, with subscriber numbers sitting tantalisingly close to the 25,000 milestone.
Vanessa Feltz admitted her new YouTube launch was ‘scary’
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GETTY“I keep watching it to see when it’s going to go up to 25,000,” she said, adding that the viewing figures and audience reaction to her opening episodes have been strong.
The move to YouTube followed the abrupt cancellation of her Channel 5 programme, which Ms Feltz described as a deeply unpleasant surprise.
“Yeah, it was horrible. It was a shock. It was unexpected. It was incredibly disappointing,” she said.
Ms Feltz explained that she had been particularly blindsided because a year-long contract had been in place when Paramount acquired Channel 5 and simply scrapped the show.
Vanessa Feltz has made the move to YouTube
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GETTYShe noted that her programme had been the sole live offering on the channel at that time, and its replacement with Paramount films left the network without any live programming.
“I loved it, so I was very disappointed and very shocked,” she added, making clear the cancellation had been both a professional and personal blow.
The presenter drew on her time at The Big Breakfast when deciding how to stage her new show, reasoning that a YouTube programme need not replicate the look and feel of conventional television.
She recalled that the iconic Channel 4 morning show had been broadcast from a genuine cottage beside a lock in East London, giving it an authentic domestic atmosphere that a traditional studio could never match.
Vanessa Feltz talked about the excitement of her new YouTube channel
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“I just thought, well, ‘hang on a minute, I could do it in my house,'” she said, explaining that she quickly arranged for a studio to be constructed in her living room.
Ms Feltz pointed to creators such as Amelia DiMoldenberg, who films from chicken shops, as proof that the platform offers limitless possibilities for unconventional settings.
Ms Feltz revealed that she had decided to revive her role as the “on the bed” interviewer, a position she originally held on The Big Breakfast following Paula Yates and Lily Savage.
She acknowledged that both of her predecessors had since passed away, noting that she is now the last surviving person to have occupied that famous role.
The presenter drew on her time at The Big Breakfast when deciding how to stage her new show
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“I think certainly, you know, Paula and Lily are you know sitting on clouds next to the Almighty, and I’m the one that’s still carrying on,” she said.
Beyond the bedroom set, Ms Feltz has embraced the creative freedom of the platform by conducting interviews in the bath and constructing a bagel in the kitchen as part of the show’s format.
She described the whole experience as “tremendously good fun.”
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