MGEITF 2011: Diary of a TV junkie

So this year’s Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival was all about Google; Google and convergence. Eric Schmidt was the first non-broadcast industry speaker to deliver the MacTaggart lecture. And of course Prof Brian Cox gave his support for science in the Alternative MacTaggart.

But it wasn’t all boffins – there was a lot of luvving too! If you haven’t been to the festival before, you’re missing out. You can catch up on all the ‘important’ themes on mediaguardian.co.uk but it’s no substitute for the experiences on offer. And I am not just talking about vajazzling (well, armjazzling!)…

Get married in true Big Fat Gypsy Wedding style; buy a warm jumper from The Killing (quite a sensible option given the weather in Scotland, even in August); play shoot out (not so great on a hangover); discover the difference between Shuttered 3D and Polarised 3D (FYI – Shuttered is the better option, particularly when watching Sharapova – based on the men’s reactions around me!) – and that’s just in the village fete area of the conference centre.

Seminars offered even more engagement. Note to self – don’t tweet a silly non-work related message and expect Krishnan Guru-Murthy not to pick up on it. He will. He did. It got us a Dynamo trick though, which, to be totally honest, was far more enjoyable than a ‘debate’ about how amazing Twitter is.

And then there was TOWIE. A session full of young TV hopefuls (on the production side rather than the cast side, I think/hope). A session so popular that people were actually running to the front row (I am not ashamed to say I also ‘ran’ – as much as you can in 4 inch stilettos). It’s funny how people (serious and senior industry people included) were most intrigued by the gossip; the ‘Shuttt uppp’ video clips; and the cast’s paychecks. It is addictive, whether you like it or not. Marbs is no longer Marbella.

Back to the George Hotel for the real insights – and a few sights for sore eyes (Did anyone see Denise Welch flashing, several times? I am guessing so! Loose woman). That’s where the party really gets going – controllers bust a groove; Richard Bacon circles in Powder Pink; and the media world proves it can drink.

If you’re lucky, you can even grab a picture of Mark Wright on your way to bed. Not a bad way to end the night…

But of course Edinburgh isn’t just about the TV festival. It happens to fall on the last weekend of the Fringe festival, rather handy if you like a bit of comedy. Talking of comedy…

Going up

• Denise Welch’s top
• Powder blue
• Party hide and seek
• Haggis for dinner
• Comedy
• Random theatre
• The George’s welcome pack (champers & chocs, natch)
• Woolly jumpers
• Alex Crawford

Going down

• Powder pink
• Wearing the same clothes all weekend (seriously!)
• Rain
• Hello Kitty
• Burberry turbans
• Tea at 2am
• Edinburgh Castle queues
• Haggis for breakfast
• Standing on 4-hour train journeys