Straight from school to head of production: The rise of BBC Sport's Debbie Dubois International Womens Day 2021 focus By Heather McLean, Editor
Thursday, March 4, 2021 - 17:03
Print This Story
BBC Sport's head of production, Debbie Dubois
Today most people feel that a degree is an absolute necessity when seeking a job in sports broadcasting. It has not always been this way, however, and the rise of BBC Sport's head of production, Debbie Dubois, is a perfect example of making your way to the top on talent and initiative, determination and resilience.
She says: The industry felt quite different in the late eighties when I first started out, and so my route in and background didn't necessarily mirror that of my colleagues. Having not come via the university degree route I struggled with that initially in terms of my career progression and the confidence to believe that I could make that next step.
Think more broadly than sport to gain as wide an experience across a wealth of genres at the start of your career; that wider knowledge and experience will stand you in good stead and the skills you gain will be transferrable to sport but will give you a different perspective
Now it's not even a consideration; I see it as a positive that I came in without a degree, from a northern working class background, and worked my way up, Dubois claims. You need determination and resilience to push through those challenges and know that you bring something different to each role in terms of your background and experiences. Finding a mentor who can give you that support, endorsement, and push is also crucial, and at various points along the way I had that guidance when I needed it.
With diversity and inclusion at the forefront of most broadcasters' agendas now, and with International Women's Day 2021 on 8 March upon us, it is important to see how those in the industry can make positive steps towards wider diversity and inclusion.
Seeing women in any role across the business can make a difference to that inclusion, says Dubois. Particularly if those women are in leadership roles. You need those role models for others to see that it is possible to make that progression. Finding a mentor who can support you and advise at various points, particularly when you feel you've hit a wall with regards to your career progression, can be invaluable. Likewise, make sure you acknowledge the importance of teamwork and recognising those around you who are often in the background but who play a vital role in their contribution.
She comments on what she would advise other women looking to get into a role similar to her own: Think more broadly than sport to gain as wide an experience across a wealth of genres at the start of your career; that wider knowledge and experience will stand you in good stead and the skills you gain will be transferrable to sport but will give you a different perspective, she continues. The same applies to roles and progression; I worked in radio for a period of time and working with smaller teams and tight budgets makes you creative in terms of your decision making and finding solutions.
BBC Sport's production management team in the World Cup 2019 studio in Russia, with head of production Debbie Dubois front left
Upwardly mobile
Dubois did not have TV broadcasting on her radar at first. As a career path it wasn't something I even had considered at school, she says. I did a business studies course with Spanish at college and then came into the BBC in a business support role.
The BBC offered - and still does - so many ways to progress your career and the opportunities it presented to me really sparked my interest in production, she continues. Once in, I took every opportunity to gain production experience, from manning phones on a Saturday for a children's show to sending out factsheets in the evenings after the day job finished, or working on appeal night for Children in Need. It all gave me valuable experience so that I could apply for production roles.
For over 20 years, Dubois worked in both TV and radio, moving around the BBC's factual, daytime, lifestyle and events departments, covering everything from a Papal visit to a royal funeral. Working in factual offered exposure to a range of formats, from magazine style to live studios and OB programmes, which included an element of live events.
I also worked across lifestyle titles such as Countryfile and cookery series, daytime consumer shows with high volume, low cost production models, which had a very different set of issues from delivering a major event in an overseas location, she says. All of those varied experiences shape your thinking and give you that breadth of knowledge to deal with whatever production challenges might come your way.
When the role in BBC Sport came up in 2011, she was a highly experienced production executive who had been working in factual for over a decade. I felt the time was right for me to try a new genre, so I applied for it and was appointed.
It was a, tricky time to join BBC Sport, as the department was still in the early stages of its move to Media City, and so operations, teams and Dubois' time was split between London and Salford for at least 18 months. There were new studios, technical facilities, and buildings to get across, but once we got through that initial period and the teams were all relocated it got easier to manage, she says. By then I had familiarised myself with a new department. In some ways moving across into sports output and the skills transfer across in terms of production was the easier bit, it was more of the culture change and joining at a time when for many the move and relocating was a huge life change for them.
Now, Dubois says it feels a very different place to work. The site has cont
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
Straight from school to head of production: The rise of BBC Sport's Debbie Dubois International Womens Day 2021 focus By Heather McLean, Editor 
