Susi Weaser spends her time reviewing gadgets on YouTube (and her blog Shiny Shiny).
She came to the attention of the BBC when a producer was looking for someone who could present short, ‘for-a-mainstream-audience’ gadget reviews for a forthcoming daytime program.
Apparently the fact she had effectively created a show real of her talent made it very easy for the BBC to decide to invite her in for a screen test.
This is probably the first person in the UK to move from grassroots video to mainstream media.
UPDATE: My former BBC colleague Jem Stone says that in fact she’s going to work for Princess Productions, and independent TV production company that will sell the show to the BBC. Also, as Jem quite rightly points out, ShinyShiny is a Gawker blog – so not quite as ‘grassroots’ as I initially thought. Thanks for the update, Jem.