After Richard E Grant’s revelations about his daughter’s experience, readers share ‘harrowing’ memories of the job

As a runner on a film or TV production, “you are, and there is no point kidding yourself, the lowest of the low”, says Tom. “Nobody knows your name, nor do they care to ask. You will be asked to get coffees, lug around kit, even clean toilets – and if anyone higher up senses a whiff of disdain, you’re on your bike.”

Tom is 25 and has been working as a runner – the term given to entry-level positions on TV and film productions – for the past six months. It can be a creative and fun job: “One moment, you’re scrambling to fix a broken JCB that’s in the middle of shot; the next, you’re racing to track down someone cutting a tree in their garden, desperately pleading with them to stop so you can continue shooting the intimate scene.”