Many of JN-T's later traits as producer can be seen in his very earliest contact with the dramatic arts. As a teenager, he was interested in advertising. On a trip to a publicity firm, he realised that he was really more attracted to the show business side of producing commercials than to the gritty reality of advertising office spaces. He became a stage manager at a cabaret in Birmingham, where he dealt with a number of 1960s British celebrities like Shirley Bassey. He also worked as a property master on a pantomime in town, which cemented his career ambitions. In the mid-1960s, he met a young Graham Williams, whose girlfriend — a clerk to the Head of Costumes — could get him a job in television. His first contract with the BBC was a one-month gig as a male costume assistant. Though his t