Dangling from the rafters, wrestling with giant lights and tracking everything from glittering hosts to corgis in front of the Queen, Follow Spot Operator Kate Fernandes has lit it all. She joins Studio Insider to share what it’s like illuminating some of TVs biggest shows, and how to get into the industry. 

It’s hard to imagine that after being fired from an office job, working under the likes of Liz Truss and Matt Hancock, you would end up lighting up the biggest stars on the grandest stages of TV. But over a decade later, Kate Fernandes swapped politics for pinpoint precision as a follow spot operator, casting a beam across the likes of the Eurovision stage, the ballroom of Strictly Come Dancing and even onto pop icon Dua Lipa. 

“In a lighting rig, there are so many fixtures. Moving lights are integral to the overall lighting design but you need someone to highlight the actual performers. Enter the follow spots, who basically move a big torch that follows the action around.”

Whether she’s climbing 30 feet in the air or lighting performers in front of 166 million viewers, follow spotting is a role that demands intense focus, with the occasional touch of chaos. Here are her experiences working on Eurovision, Gladiators and Strictly Come Dancing… 

Eurovision

“It’s amazing.”

That’s how Kate described her experience working on the world’s largest music event. Capturing every burst of pyro and dramatic high notes demand razor sharp lighting precision, which is why a team of 14 follow spots were tasked with that enormous responsibility at the 2025 edition. 

“As fun as it is, it’s an intense experience! Long shifts and four weeks of rehearsing the lighting for the finals can be pretty tough. Between it ending and making it back home I had been awake for forty hours. Luckily, there were some songs which didn’t require my light, which gave me the chance for an occasional short rest.

“Obviously, following spotting is more than just following a target, it requires lots to think about. This was the case for Eurovision where we ended using new systems. Two of us used Follow-Me and the rest used a system called RoboSpots. This added an extra layer of complexity but allowed much more freedom within the lighting design – and looked awesome.”

With more than 30 years of experience, she is no stranger to demanding shows but even for a veteran, Eurovision came with its own unique challenges. 

“Austria, the song which won, was probably one of the hardest to light. 

“One of the team had a tiny pin spot to  a paper origami boat. The sheer levels of concentration that is required to ensure that her light wasn’t too big or lighting anything else was immense.”

But perhaps her favourite moment took place not behind the follow spot, but at the afterparty… Naturally. Despite all of her technical expertise, Kate found herself in need of a little assistance. 

“I was struggling to take a selfie, until Hannah Waddingham of all people came and helped me out. Obviously my immediate response was to blurt out how much I absolutely love her. That’s about as good as it gets for interactions at work, besides that time when Taron Egerton was getting me drinks on the set of Rocket Man.”

Gladiators 

Surprisingly one of the trickiest shows to operate on is BBC’s newly revived Gladiators. Unlike Eurovision, there isn’t the opportunity for months worth of rehearsals. Combine this with unpredictability of physical challenges, and tracking the action can become a game of instinct and reaction. 

“There’s a real worry that you will fall behind the person when they’re sprinting, and some of those gladiators are really fast! It really does just come down to intuition because you don’t know when someone’s going to fall off, you just have to go with it.” 

Gladiators also utilise remote systems for the following spotting. While the technology has its upsides such as altering the colour of the light, it also shares some challenges. 

“Without being able to see the action in person, if you zoom in too far on the monitors of the remote units you lose peripheral vision. So you can imagine, me underneath all the seats with my monitor at the Windsor Horse show, having to track these tiny Corgis in front of the Queen, it was quite a nerve wracking experience.

“Sometimes there tends to be a slight lag on them as well, which mixes horribly with the anticipatory aspect of the show. I can assure you there’s occasional swearing going on when we practice.” 

Strictly Come Dancing

In stark contrast to the unpredictable chaos of Gladiators, Strictly Come Dancing follows a far more structured and rehearsed format. With traditional, manual follow spots and three full rehearsals before each live show, Strictly offers a sense of routine and rhythm, making it feel almost calm in comparison to other experiences. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I operate two lights on the show, so having to run back and forth across the studio to light both the dances and then the hosts isn’t light work. 

“But it’s not as crazy as being suspended 30 feet in the air in a harness to light Dancing on Ice or doing the follow spotting for four hours without break, on The Wheel – that requires a lot of concentration and is physically quite demanding.

Advice

Follow spotting may not be the most known job in the world of entertainment, but it’s clearly one that can open the door to some of the most exciting gigs in TV. The opportunities are there, but how attainable are they for someone just starting out. 

“The thing is, it’s not something you can do without practice. When I’ve worked with students, they usually come from a background studying technical theatre at university.”

However, Kate’s past in interior designing and accounting, proves that a career path is possible without degrees and graduations. Experience in theatres can prove just as helpful in laying the foundations for a successful career path, 

“You need to be found, and the way to do it is to get that practice in. There’s not that many people who follow spot, so word of mouth goes a long way.

“My start came from working in amateur drama productions and dance schools. If you can get work in areas like that, learn how the lights work and get to grips with the terminology, then the easiest way to get work is by putting yourself on dep lists or as casual crew in venues, as well as crewing companies. In TV we tend to have backgrounds in theatre, and getting recruited through other roles in TV.”

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