Annette's Story

What do you do now, and what does your current work involve?

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I’m a Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist, specialising in confidence, and I work with people to remove the blockers that are holding them back from fulfilling their potential. I’m also the author of Step Into Your Spotlight: The TV Insider’s Guide to Feeling Confident When All Eyes Are on You, and the founder of Silverbrook Hypnotherapy.

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Alongside this, I am also an Associate Lecturer at the University of Salford, where I teach Level 5 and 6 TV studio production modules, drawing on my previous career in television. But my main focus is my hypnotherapy practice, Silverbrook Hypnotherapy.

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In simple terms, my work is about helping clients understand and challenge the thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours that are keeping them stuck. While hypnotherapy can support a wide range of issues, including smoking cessation, weight management, pain and trauma, my specialism is boosting confidence and self-belief, and overcoming fears and phobias. Ultimately, I help people feel more in control of themselves, so they can step forward rather than hold back.

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What do you regard as your first career or the path you originally started out in?

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I was one of those rare children who knew exactly what they wanted to do from about the age of 12 or 13. I knew I wanted to work in television.

 

I didn’t know how I was going to get there, I was living in Cardiff at the time, where television wasn’t a huge industry. But I was very clear on one thing. I wanted to work in children’s television. And more specifically, on the Saturday morning shows that I loved watching as a teenager.

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Everything I chose from that point on, my degree and my postgraduate qualifications, was geared towards achieving that goal. Two weeks after finishing my postgrad, I was invited into the BBC for a day to have a look around, and I stayed for the next 38 years.

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Not only did I achieve my original aim of working on those Saturday morning shows such as Going Live! and Live & Kicking, I went on to become the Executive Producer of them, as well as many other programmes. So I’m someone who had a very clear dream early on, and not only reached it but exceeded it.

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Have there been any other careers, roles or industries you’ve worked in along the way, including any detours, pivots or unexpected chapters in your career journey?

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Not during my television career, I got onto the right track early on and then stayed on it. I often say I grew up at the BBC. Over 38 years, I worked my way through a wide range of production and editorial roles, gradually building experience, confidence and leadership, until I reached my final role as Head of Children’s Factual for BBC Studios Kids & Family.

 

Along the way, I was approached about opportunities with other companies and on other programmes. But honestly, nothing ever felt more compelling than what I was already doing at the BBC. I was continually being stretched, challenged and trusted with bigger responsibilities.

 

So my career wasn’t about jumping around. It was about evolving within one organisation that gave me the space to grow. I have no regrets about that, I learned a huge amount, worked with incredible people, and felt genuinely fulfilled by the work I was doing.

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Looking back across your career so far, what prompted some of those changes in direction?

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The change in direction in my career wasn’t something I initially chose. It was a decision that was made for me. Following an internal restructure at a senior level within the BBC, my role as Head of Children’s Factual at BBC Studios Kids & Family was made redundant, along with a number of colleagues in similar positions.

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I’d spent 38 years building my career there, so it was a huge shock. And if I’m honest, there were a lot of emotions that came with that: worry, anger and uncertainty. But at some point, you reach a moment where you realise you can’t change what’s happened, but what you can change is how you respond to it.

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That shift in thinking was crucial for me. It gave me a sense of control back in a situation that initially felt completely out of my hands, and that’s really where the next chapter began.

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Were there particular moments, opportunities or realisations that encouraged you to try something different?

 

A big factor for me was my age at the time. I was 60 when I was made redundant. For many people, that can be a point where ambitions start to scale down, where it can feel like doors are closing. But because this wasn’t a decision I had made, I didn’t feel ready to step back.

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I enjoyed working, I wanted to keep working, and I knew I still had more to give. There was something about reaching that milestone birthday that made me stop and think, “Well… why not?” What have I actually got to lose here?

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Yes, I was moving towards what some might consider the later stage of a career, but I knew I still had years ahead of me where I could try something new. Once I had worked my way through the initial shock and the emotional fallout, and come out the other side of that, I realised something very clearly. I wasn’t done. I didn’t want to retire. In fact, I felt energised by the idea of what might come next.

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But there was one thing I was absolutely certain about, I didn’t want to work for anyone else again. I wanted to work for myself, to make my own decisions about what I did, how I did it, and where I focussed my energy. Having had a major career decision made for me, I knew I wanted the next chapter to be one where I was in control of my own direction.

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What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when changing path?

 

There were many challenges at the beginning. I had completely changed worlds, I’d spent nearly 40 years in television and media, where I had deep knowledge, experience, a shared language, and a real sense of confidence in what I was doing. Then suddenly, I was stepping into the world of therapy, which was entirely new to me.

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So I had to go back into learning mode. I attended a lot of courses and training, and there were many moments where I felt out of my depth. That was quite a shock in itself, because I hadn’t felt like that for many years in my TV career.

 

Another big challenge was the shift from working within a large organisation to working completely on my own. At the BBC, I was surrounded by talented people. If I needed help with something like graphics, marketing or technical support, there was always someone I could turn to. Suddenly, all of that disappeared.

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There was no IT department. That was me.
No marketing department. That was me too.

And that was a steep learning curve.

 

I’m also someone who thinks out loud. I get energy from being around people, bouncing ideas around and hearing them reflected back. So moving into a role where I was working alone, sitting in my office, was a real adjustment. I missed that interaction. I had to be quite intentional about finding that connection elsewhere, which I did through networking groups and communities of people who inspired me and understood what I was building.

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And then there were the practical challenges. I remember building my own website, something I could very easily have outsourced to someone who would have done it faster and with far less swearing. But actually, doing it myself and proving that I could do it became an important lesson. It showed me that I was capable of far more than I initially thought.

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What helped you most in navigating those career transitions?

 

The thing that helped me most was understanding my why. Why did I want to become a Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist? Why did I want to help people overcome issues around confidence and self-belief?

 

To answer that, I looked back at my previous career in television, and even further back to earlier jobs I’d had, and asked myself a simple question: what is it about working that I’ve always enjoyed?

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The answer was very clear. It’s about making someone’s life better as a result of what I’ve done. That might be through creating a television programme that entertains, informs or inspires. It might be helping a client move past something that’s been holding them back for years. Or even something as simple as helping someone in a shop feel good about what they’re wearing.

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That thread has always been there. Understanding that gave me real clarity and confidence. It showed me that, although the industry was changing, the purpose behind my work wasn’t. And I think that was key, because if I had tried to move into something that didn’t feel authentic to me, something that didn’t align with that deeper sense of purpose, the transition would have been much harder.

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What has surprised you most about where your career has taken you?

 

Looking back at my television career, it quite literally took me around the world. The programmes I made and the organisation I worked for opened doors that simply wouldn’t have been available to me otherwise. I had access to incredible places and worked with some amazing people. And importantly, I appreciated it at the time.

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What I never predicted was leaving television. It just wasn’t on my radar. I assumed I would carry on for a few more years into my early 60s and then naturally retire when I chose to.

 

So the fact that I’ve gone on to become both a university lecturer and to set up my own business as a hypnotherapist still surprises me, because in many ways, my TV career had been in the making since I was a child. So this shift, in comparison, has felt very sudden.

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But what’s been most surprising, and reassuring, is how much of a thread still connects the two. As a hypnotherapist, I’m still working with people to enhance and enrich their lives, just in a more direct and personal way, and that brings me a huge amount of joy.

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There are also more similarities between television and therapy than you might expect. In TV, you have to understand your audience, what resonates with them, what engages them, what might inspire or move them, and in therapy, you’re doing something similar, just on an individual level.

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And now, as a business owner, I’m solely responsible for the work I do and the direction I take. That in itself has been a surprise, but also something I find incredibly exciting. Because this time, the future really is in my hands.

 

What practical advice would you give to someone who is considering a career change but isn’t sure where to begin?

 

I think the starting point depends on how much clarity you already have. If you’re someone who already has a passion or a side interest alongside your main job, then my advice would be to start there. Begin taking small steps towards it while you’re still in the security of your current role.

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So if you’ve always dreamed of doing something like running a pottery studio, don’t wait for the “perfect moment”. Start exploring it now. Build it gradually. Test it out.

 

But if you’re more like me, and you don’t have that one obvious “next thing”, then you may find yourself staring at a blank sheet of paper. That’s where I was. In that situation, I would strongly recommend doing an honest audit of your skills. Look at your transferable skills, not just what you do, but how you do it.

 

When I did that, I realised I was a strong communicator, a good active listener, a creative problem solver, resourceful, and calm under pressure. Those skills had served me well in television, but they weren’t exclusive to that industry. They could be applied in many different contexts, including therapy, where communication and understanding people are absolutely key. So don’t pigeonhole yourself into thinking your experience only fits one path, there is almost always more crossover than you initially think.

 

Looking back now, what key lessons or reflections would you share with others thinking about changing careers?

 

At the point of writing this, I’m now just over three years into my new career, post-television. When I compare that to the 38 years I spent in TV, I often describe this new career as still being a toddler. That’s important to remember, because when you change careers, you’re not going to instantly have the same level of experience, confidence or reputation that you had in your previous role.

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So one of the biggest lessons is don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re starting again in many ways, but you’re not starting from scratch, you’re starting from experience. Don’t dismiss the skills, knowledge and insight you’ve already built, and if you’re making a change later in your professional life, as I did at 60, recognise the depth of experience you bring with you, that has real value.

 

If you’re moving into something completely new, as I was with hypnotherapy, give yourself time to learn, to grow, and to find your feet. Don’t judge your success or failure too quickly. Have a clear goal of where you want to get to, but allow yourself to enjoy the process of getting there.

 

Another key lesson for me has been the importance of finding the right support network. When you work for yourself, you don’t automatically have a team around you. So you have to be intentional about creating that support. For me, networking has been invaluable, not just from a business point of view, but from a human one.

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There’s a phrase I often use with my clients, and I apply it to myself as well, surround yourself with radiators, not drains. Find people who lift you up, who support you, who challenge you in the right way, and who help you grow. We all need that connection, and if you are working on your own, building that network can make all the difference, both professionally and personally.

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Connect with Annette on LinkedIn, and to explore more of her work, visit www.silverbrookhypnotherapy.co.uk, follow @silverbrook_hypnotherapy on Instagram, and connect on Facebook at Silverbrook Hypnotherapy, and discover her book Step Into Your Spotlight on Amazon