Becoming a confidence coach Life hasn't always been so easy for Would Like to Meet confidence and communication coach, Jeremy Milnes. Here he explains what kept him going.

In this article

The early years Working aboard

Teaching experience Television and theatre work

My advice is to take risks!

At school I was always good at drama and was involved in all the school productions. My favourite role was the mayor in The Pied Piper when I was 13. My dad was also involved in amateur dramatics in my hometown of Cambridge. Whenever child actors were required, dad encouraged me to act by bribing me with an increase in pocket money.

So, when it came to deciding what to do with my life after 'A' levels the decision was a simple one; anything to do with drama. I was good at it and it fired my imagination. It also meant working creatively with people.

I applied to a drama school and to a teacher's training college, auditioned for both and received letters offering me places on exactly the same day. I had two weeks to make my mind up. I remember sitting down with a piece of paper in front of me listing the pros and cons of each. Perhaps even then I'd started to life coach myself.

After university I boarded a plane for Sri Lanka. I was to live and work in the small village of Bolowalana for the next two years as a VSO volunteer. My job was to improve the spoken language skills of Sri Lankan English teachers using drama and theatre techniques in an experimental college set up by the British Council.

It was an exciting and sometimes lonely time of my life. I learnt Singhalese, was bitten by a scorpion and met the Queen at a garden party held at the British High Commission in Colombo. I had to borrow a suit to meet the necessary dress requirements. Unfortunately the suit I borrowed from a local farmer friend of mine carried a strong aroma of mothballs. It was no surprise that Her Majesty made the smallest of small talk with me before moving on rapidly.

On my return to England I worked for seven years as head of drama in a high school in London. That experience and the skills I gained from it became my meal ticket for the future. As much as I enjoyed my job, I knew it wasn't to be for life. Acting was something I still wanted to try, so I auditioned for small-scale theatre companies until finally I got a job. It paid less than half my teacher's salary and I had to postpone payment on my mortgage to do it but such was the desire.

I worked professionally in theatre, radio, bit parts in television, film and numerous commercials. I worked with John McEnroe and was directed by Ridley Scott. Long periods of unemployment are part of the actor's lot but I made a decision not to let the days pass without event, and instead kept busy while waiting for my agent to call.

I trained and worked as a volunteer Samaritan Listener and went back into education as a learning mentor. I took a course in counselling skills because I needed to know how to interact with people when dealing with sensitive and personal issues. And then one day my agent called and said I had a test for a show called Would Like To Meet. I'd never heard of it!

I'd love to say that I had planned the events of my life but I'd be lying. Things did just happen but I will take some credit. I helped them to happen by being proactive, taking risks and picking myself up after many disappointments.