ISLEWORTH based satellite broadcaster Sky has launched a contest to find a talented new presenter from among its own employees.

The competition is open to all of BSkyB's nine and a half thousand employees nation-wide, from administrative staff, to satellite engineers and call centre workers, and may include staff from the national Head Office in Isleworth.

The reality TV-style contest will feature a panel of TV personalities and senior producers as judges, such as Sky News weather presenter Lisa Burke.

Prospective contestants in Sky's first ever staff search will not need any broadcasting experience or formal qualifications, other than being employees of the company. The hopeful entrants will be whittled down to ten finalists, who will travel to London for the 4-day presenting course. The winner will be offered a one-off slot on one of Sky's news, sport, or entertainment channels.

Dawn Airey, Managing Director of Sky Networks, said: "This is a very serious initiative. Whether our people work in our customer contact centres, technical facilities, canteen or elsewhere, the bottom line is they work for a broadcasting company - at our heart are programmes. This is a fantastic opportunity to interest and motivate staff while delivering new talent to Sky Networks."

Sky presenter, Lisa Burke, added: "It's a real honour to be part of the judging panel for this fantastic new project and I can't wait to uncover some serious talent from our own staff. There's no shortage of star potential here in Sky and choosing the winner certainly won't be easy."

Anyone interested should contact Marina Storti via email on marina.storti@bskyb.com