PA PROFILE

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end and they’d wave goodbye. That was when I knew I wanted a proper working relationship.” Merryl’s moment of epiphany, as she calls it, occurred during one such project. “I was working in a field at 3am with a journalist who had come all the way from the USA to do an interview with an actress. The problem was that she decided she didn’t want to talk to us. The director was in a stew and I had a journalist that no one wanted. I thought then that there had to be something better than this.”

Meeting of minds And there was, which was when Merryl and Julian met. Merryl recalls getting a brochure made up to promote her new role as a PA and the graphic designer mentioned that he had connections with Julian. The next thing she knew she had an introduction. “I was in the right place at the right time,” Merryl remembers. “The funny thing is that I had a thousand brochures made up and still have 999 of them. All of my work just seems to come from word of mouth.” Merryl works as Julian’s PA on a part time basis. She

works from his house on Thursdays even though they speak frequently during the week and she’s also able to work remotely. However, over 13 years their relationship has evolved to the point that Merryl admits that Julian feels like family. “Our relationship is based upon mutual respect,” she says, “even though we have been through our ups and downs. Our current relationship wasn’t immediate. In fact, in the early days we were more cut and dried with each other.”

Duty calls Her days with Julian involve the usual tasks – sorting post, tackling fan mail and pinning Julian down all while acting as the buffer between him and the rest of world, including agents, accountants, the charities for which he is patron and anyone else who places demands upon his time. “I try to second guess him and when he gets invites I usually know what he’ll say about them. Saying that, though, he was once offered a week in a caravan park and I thought he’d say no but he leapt at it, so I have to be open to the idea that I may make a wrong call. “The more I work for him the more he can under- stand where I am coming from when I make a decision. Luckily I have full access to Julian which means I can ask him whatever I need to. In the past I have worked for celebrities who are unavailable, and have had to guess all sorts of things and that’s when you really feel the pres- sure. It’s a big responsibility but that’s something you have to square up to when you are a PA.”

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has them redecorated. I know where things should go, for example, and I’ve even been at his house at 3am because the burglar alarm has gone off and he’s been away. It’s a role that’s 24/ 7 but that’s just what the job entails.” It’s not a job that’s without glamour though and

at 3am because the burglar alarm has gone off and he’s been away. It’s a role that’s 24/ 7 but that’s just what the job entails

“I’ve even been at his house

Merryl admits that it is a pull, even if it isn’t the reason that she does the job. She accompanies Julian to shows or TV recordings and is often seen mingling with names. That doesn’t mean that the work is without its pressures too. Merryl admits that she is drawn to the job partly because she loves problem solving and that there are days when Julian will call her with the opening line, “And today’s challenge will be...” “It’s something I am used to” she says. “I remember one book reading we went to where we took the train from London to Leeds and it was only when we got to the book store that Julian realised he’d left his bag on the train. The bag contained his personal copy of his book, along with other things like his make-up. I legged it back to the station even though the train had gone and managed to persuade the guard to get the bag back to me before the train reached the end of the line. I got the bag back to Julian

before the reading was due to start but I did a lot of sweating over it, I can tell you.” Julian’s 50th birthday party was another challenge for

Getting personal And it’s not just Merryl’s attempts at telepathy that have developed over the last 13 years. She has also found her role evolving from one that is strictly administrative to one that encompasses all aspects of Julian’s life. Merryl explains that as Julian realised her capabilities she has found herself becoming more personally involved. “If he’s busy in panto I can help him get things done and buy Christmas presents for his family because I know them so well. I even make decisions about his houses when he

10 » www.executivepa.com » Aug/Sept 2010

Merryl: “That’s when I realised that I’d hate to be a party planner,” she laughs. “I’d arranged an informal party for his birthday a few years ago and Julian wanted the same again for his 50th. The problem is that it escalated and I ended up arranging coaches that went to his Kent home from London along with marquees and portaloos. It was a lovely day, though, with the children, dogs and chickens all running around Julian’s gorgeous gardens.” And it goes to show that Julian appreciates Merryl’s efforts with the fact that their 13 year relationship seems far from ending. In fact, Julian jokes that Merryl is his professional wife, something that Merryl agrees with. “I have a successful marriage and certainly have similar duties for Julian. It’s about working closely with some- one and knowing when to compromise, stand your ground or back down. Working with Julian is about hav- ing a good relationship and that’s when you know you can get the job done well.” E

MERRYL ON JULIAN’S INFLUENCES... “I have two teenage daughters and they know Julian well because I started working with him when they were very young. They’ve seen him in panto and Strictly Come Dancing. One thing we don’t do is share make-up tips though. Let’s just say that my style differs to his. Mine is more subtle.”

MERRYL ON BEING PA TO THE STARS... “A lot of people ask me about my work and I have to be honest and tell them that it doesn’t pay a living salary. To earn well you’d have to take on enough clients to be there for all of them at 3am. You’d have to cope with all of the pressure that that brings and that’s not easy. As I work as a freelance I have the flexibility I need but it means that the work can be up and down too.”

MERRYL ON THE KEY TO SUCCESS... “Julian needs someone who is unflappable and reliable so I just do all of my flapping in private. Or at least Julian knows that if he hands a problem to me I’ll do all of the worrying for him so that he doesn’t have to. It’s great that I can be honest with him though and that is an enormous help.”