famous? NittooorWhat’s it like to work for somebody Post a letter, entertain my Aunt Sylvia and boil me 72 eggs. According to recent revelations, working for somebody famous can be an almost impos: 1 Ifyou believe the newspaper headlines, it seems that being a personal assistant to a famous person means middle-of-the-night ohone calls, ridiculous ‘demands and getting hit by a fying BlackBerry 2 And the complex role of the PA has recently captured the public's attention. According to recent stories, celebrity cook Nigella Lawson had her assistant make sure the fridge was stocked with boiled oggs, while businassman and art colector Charles Saatchi got his assistant to buy Copies of his book to boost its postion in the bestseler list. 3 Precictably, the mecia loves stories about a star's strange demands ~ stories like the news that Lady Gaga made her former assistant sleep in her bed because she hated being alone. 4 But aside from all the horror stores in the media, what is it realy ke to be @ celebrity's personal assistant? And what are the benelits? 5 Debora Shaw, a former personal assistant tothe actor Charlton Heston, says that salaries "depend ‘on who you're dealing with’. An assistant who is ‘expected to be on call around the clock can enjoy a salary of around £75,000 to £100,000, while those who work more regular hours are looking at £35,000 to £50,000. 6 Diversity in your working day is also one of the major benefits, says Donna Coulling, an assistant to Helena Bonham-Carter and Rachel Weisz. “Every day is ciferent and I love not knowing what I'm doing from one day to the next. Only a certain type of person can do this job." 7 Alter working with her clients for more than 11 years, Couling claims it is easy to switch betwoon managing a celebrity's lifestyle and returning to her own more normal existence. “There is some confusion, | suppose. | sometimes think,‘ ally need to get my teeth whitened, too’. And then 1 realise | don’t because I'm not in the public eye.” je task. 8 And while some people think that assistants receive endless cits, in reality it's usually just a rice present for birthdays and Christmas. 9 Both Shaw and Coulling agree that the details of ‘your tasks should be clear before accepting the job. "There are people that do get abused, but honesty, | think they let it hanpen," Couling says. 10 “\ always tell people to be sure of what they re not ‘going to do. f you don't want to take care of children, you need to be clear about it" 11 Discretion is the key. Most assistants have confidentiality contracts with their employers, Harrison Cheung, who worked as an assistant to Christian Bale from 1993-2003, obviously had no such agreement. In 2012, Cheung published a book about his time with the actor. 12 Typical tasks included organising the gardener, replying to fan mail, and running errands. But Cheung aiso raceived 2am phone calls and was forced to entertain visiting family members. 13 “He enjoyed making me call him ‘governor’ Cheung recalls. Now working n internet marketing for IBM, Cheung advises wannabe celebrity assistants to separate business and pleasure. 14 However. Coulling and Shaw insist that most personal assistants enjoy their jobs and get on really well with their employers. It can also open ‘doors to bigger and better things. For example, Madonna's assistant later became her manager. 15 “\ guess it's the same with any industry." Coulling says. “There are a couple of horror stories and it tarnishes the wnole industry." 16 It seems that being a personal assistants just Ike ‘any other job: if your job is like a horror story, then you can’t wait fr the weekend ~ if your boss allows you to have tree weekends, of course, ‘Adapted from The Independent, 15/1/14, by Gillian OrrChecking understanding Answer the questions below. What is the media's attitude towards the stories of celebrities’ personal assistants? What are the benefits of working as a celebrity's personal assistant? How often do personal assistants typically receive gifts from their bosses? ‘What advice does Donna Coulling give to people who want to become personal assistants? ‘What is the most important aspect of an assistant’s relationship with a celebrity? ‘What typical tasks did Christian Bale’s assistant have to do? ‘What advice does Harrison Cheung give to people who want to become personal assistants? ‘Which example mentioned in the text shows that being a celebrity's assistant lead to ‘better things’? SNOOTY N Find the word Find a word or phrase in the text which means: improve, increase (verb, P2) 24 hours a day (phrase, P5) a very large number of (adjective, PB) trying to be like someone else (informal adjective, P13) have a good relationship (phrasal verb, P14) damages the reputation of (verb, P15) ook eVpo