After the summer, I signed up for a course to learn Portuguese and moved into a farmhouse annex in a lovely little village called Ludo, where I embraced living like a local.
Through my job, I became very well-connected and many opportunities came my way. I ended up being a slightly bigger fish in a much smaller pond. The local magazines were always looking for content, and I began writing advertorials for a few of the English-language titles.
The big shift occurred when I was running a New Year’s campaign for the gym. At a meeting at a local radio station, Kiss FM 101.2, I said I wanted the advert to be in two languages. I requested a male for the Portuguese voice-over, combined with an English female voice. They didn’t have a female English option, so I offered to do it if they would negotiate a discount on the advertising.
At that stage, I didn’t have aspirations to be a presenter, it just kind of happened. I did a few more voice-overs and ended up hosting an evening show twice a week for three years. The first time I presented was really nerve-wracking – they pointed out what the various pieces of equipment did, then left me on my own – but it was a baptism of fire that gave me a passion for broadcasting.
After a few years, I was ready for a change and had the confidence to make a showreel. In my final health club newsletter, I wrote: “Our marketing manager, Jasmine Harman, is going to pursue a career as a television presenter and we wish her the best of luck.” I was putting it out there that this really was going to happen.
