Carole Hersee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carole Hersee
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Carole Hersee pictured in Test Card F c. 1967
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| Born | 25 November 1958 Redhill, Surrey, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Costume designer |
| Known for | Appearing on Test Card F from 1967–1998 |
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Carole Hersee, born on November 25, 1958, is an English costume designer. She is famous for being the girl in the middle of the United Kingdom's television Test Card F. This test card, along with others like Test Card J, W, and X, was shown on BBC Television from 1967 to 1998. Because of this, Carole became the most seen face in British television history.
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What is Test Card F?
Test Card F was a special image used on television. It was shown when there were no TV shows on air. This helped engineers check if the picture quality was good. It was like a test pattern for your TV screen.
How Test Card F Was Made
Carole's father, George Hersee, was a BBC engineer. He created Test Card F in 1967. He took pictures of Carole and her younger sister, Gillian, for the card. Carole thinks she was chosen because Gillian had lost two front teeth at the time.
However, her father later said that a committee chose Carole because she had lighter hair. Someone noticed Carole looked left-handed in the photo. To make it seem like she was holding the chalk with her right hand, they flipped the picture.
The Famous Picture
In the picture, Carole was sitting with a Noughts and Crosses board. The "X" on the board was placed right in the middle of the TV screen. She also had her own clown doll named Bubbles with her. This doll was brought to the photo shoot just for the picture.
Carole was paid £100 for the photo shoot. The picture, which was a 35mm slide, was used on TV in the UK and other places for over 40 years. It was usually shown when there were no programs on TV.
Life as the Test Card Girl
Because her face was on TV for so long, Carole received fan mail when she was a teenager. Media companies often asked her for interviews. But she quickly got tired of all the attention.
Some people believe Carole Hersee is in the Guinness World Records. They say she holds the record for the longest television appearance in history. This is estimated to be about 70,000 hours, which is almost eight continuous years.
However, Carole herself has said this is not true. In an interview in 2007, she explained that it cannot be in the Guinness Book of Records. This is because it's not a record that someone else can try to achieve. Carole still owns the Bubbles doll from the picture, and she keeps it safely stored in a box.
Test Card Girl in Life on Mars
Carole Hersee was shown as a made-up character in the TV show Life on Mars. The character was called the Test Card Girl. She was played by Rafaella Hutchinson in the first season and Harriet Rogers in the second.
In the show, she would appear to the main character, Sam Tyler, in short visions. She often teased him and sometimes scared him a lot. She is the very last character seen in the series. She pretends to turn a switch on the side of the screen, and the image disappears, just like an old TV turning off.
Carole's Career
Carole Hersee went to Heath End School in Farnham. As an adult, she became a seamstress. She worked for a company that made costumes for plays and movies.
She has designed costumes for many famous West End theatre shows in London. She also designed costumes for films like The Last Emperor, Flash Gordon, and Dangerous Liaisons.
See also
- Lenna
