So, there I am stood waiting (rather impatiently) for my train. It’s been a long day – a seven hour coach journey, to spend only a few hours at the Toy Fair – although it was invaluable research and most certainly worth the trip. Anyway, to backtrack, there I am hair windswept (but that’s just standard), and no makeup on – the small amount I put on at 3am that morning had certainly disintegrated throughout the day.

I have absolutely no idea what I am doing or where I am heading, so I make a lucky guess with the left hand side of the track. Amongst the banal hustle and bustle of the London train station a stranger approaches me.

“Sudan Mahendran”, the no-longer-stranger proclaims.

I look slightly baffled as I accept his stern handshake – clearly a business man.
“It’s you isn’t it?” he says in an assured tone “one of those twins from that ITV show?”

“Shhhh”, I reply, half-embarrassed by his need to broadcast this, half-unsure why this suited and booted gentleman has approached me.

After a few minutes of conversing it becomes apparent that Sudan has seen me in the Toy Fair, and is intrigued as to which part of the toy industry I ‘specialise’ in.

“To be completely honest” I tell Sudan, “the only thing I know about toys is how to play with them, my visit here is strictly for research purposes”.

Sudan seems intrigued by my eagerness to learn and my commitment to my studies, saying it is not what he imagined from one of the seemingly airheaded blonde twins. At the end of the conversation Sudan whips out his ... business card (sorry to disappoint, but it’s not that kind of story).

Sudan works for Performance Brands, an award-winning company which offers Brand Licensing consultancy and services worldwide, looking after prestigious brands including: BMW, Mini, Nintendo, Slazenger, Dr Martens, and Dunlop.

So there I am, a leg into the industry, and – to any pessimists - a prime example of the benefits of going on the so-called ‘trashy’ ITV show Take Me Out.