Blackburn’s AJ Odudu has praised bursaries for helping young people, especially from working class backgrounds, to establish a career in television.

This comes as the former St Bede’s High School pupil has been announced as an ambassador for the Royal Television Society’s (RTS) bursary schemes.

As ambassador, AJ will meet and mentor the scholars and attend bursary events and use her platform to highlight the importance of the RTS bursary schemes for up-and-coming talent in the television industry.

AJ said: “It's an honour to be on board as an ambassador for the RTS bursary schemes.

“As someone who worked their way up and started my career with no connections in the TV industry, coming from a working-class background in Blackburn to finding my feet in the industry, I know how important being supported by such a prestigious institution will be for the recipients, and look forward to meeting the talented students and hearing all about their aspirations for the future.”

AJ has carved out a successful career in the television industry, presenting shows including ITV’s Big Brother reboot, Channel 4 competition show The Bridge and home makeover show The Big Interiors Battle.

The 36-year-old also made it to the Strictly Come Dancing finals in 2021.

One of the core goals of the RTS is to support the television industry in reflecting the diverse voices of Britain today, and across all three of the RTS bursary schemes – the TV Production and Journalism (TVPJ) Bursary, the Digital Innovation (DI) Bursary and the Steve Hewlett Scholarship.

As part of the TVPJ scheme, one of the successful bursary recipients will receive the Beryl Vertue Scholarship, which was first introduced in 2022.

This year the RTS is celebrating 10 years since the launch of the bursary schemes, which have now supported around 350 talented students since their inception.

Of the bursary recipients,  82 per cent have gone on to forge careers in the television and media industries in a variety of impressive roles, from production management at Netflix, to development at Sister Pictures and multi-media journalism at ITV and Channel 4.

Theresa Wise, chief executive of the RTS, said: “The RTS Bursaries shine a spotlight on the wide range of talented young people that make our industry thrive.

"We are proud to continue supporting students from all backgrounds as they join the RTS family of previous scholars and alumni.

"It’s also a privilege to have AJ Odudu on board as Ambassador to the scheme, who has reached impressive heights in her career and will be an inspiration to current and future scholars.”

Grace Hynds, 2023 RTS bursary recipient, said: “My first year as an RTS Bursary Scholar gave me plethora of opportunities to network and meet like-minded individuals, such as through the annual Patron’s Dinner.

“The bursary also supported me greatly financially – I was able to contribute funding towards my university short film, television programme, and editing software for my coursework.

"The RTS has been unparalleled in helping me to form connections with my peers in the television industry.”