Beauty school cop outs: jamilla paul’s diary

Rochdale salon owner Jamilla Paul is the mentor on MTV's hit new show, Beauty School Cop Out. Following the debut of the first episode last night, we share the second part of Jamilla's exclusive diary for HJi....

So it’s started. Eight weeks of beauty-obsessed, self-obsessed MTV reality wannabes, exploring what it takes to make it in the world of grooming, from keratin straightening to personal training. I’m kind of prepared. I know Beauty School Cop Outs is going to bring my salon the sort of exposure I could usually only dream of. I’ve already been featured in my local paper. And the Twittersphere has been smoking. All nice stuff so far. I’m prepared for it to change everything, well, I think I am! I only realised this week that each of the cast members on Geordie Shore has more than 1.5 million Twitter followers. That’s scary. Of course, you have to remember I’m not in the cast. I’m the mentor so I won’t get that sort of number following me. I’ve got a rough idea of what is going to happen each week on the show. I was there, day after day for the filming, but only the professional bits. I won’t see the edited programme until you do, and I don’t know what went on in the house or in any of the video diaries. So what I think might feature, might end up being something completely different. Whatever it is, it’s going to be hysterical. The producers at True North are amazing at what they do. They know and understand their audience intimately. The first episode was a revelation. I had no idea of the shenanigans and bed-hopping going on. I love these kids. They are so enthusiastic, so full of energy. But they are completely self-obsessed. And as I watched, hand-over-mouth, I had to remind myself that they are starting out on a journey of self-improvement. The grooming industries will show them how much satisfaction you can get out of making others feel better about themselves and that it’s not just about learning how to make your own hair shinier or your fake tan last longer. One thing Beauty School Cop Outs is not, is a programme about hairdressing. It’s about the cast and giving them tasters of the different disciplines within the grooming industries. I didn’t know trainee tattooists started on pigs’ heads! But I’ve worked hard with the producers to find tasks that are fun TV while showing them a realistic side of the profession without debasing them. Still, drinking the wine in the salon kitchen instead of serving clients? I bet you wouldn’t let any assistant who did that hang around for long. Fortunately, I’ve got a great team working across my two salons. They would never drink wine during the day. Well, not when they are on duty anyway. And they’ve been amazing during the weeks of filming, putting up with TV cameras in the salon and, when they are not there, putting up with me being off elsewhere. Still, business is booming and we are already attracting new team members. It’s all good.