Salford student set to host TV show in America

Lavinia Goddard, a student at the University of Salford, has won the opportunity to present a religious magazine show, which will be broadcast to millions in the UK, Europe and Africa.

The Christian programme will be co-presented by Lavinia’s business partner and long-time friend, Adaeze Chiwoko, and will feature music news and live performances by contemporary Christian artists.

Among the stars already set to appear on the show is former boxing champion Nigel Benn and X Factor finalist Jahmene Douglas. It will air on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) in the spring.

Lavinia co-runs Vinejuice, a popular urban culture promotions company based in Oldham, which was set up 2015 after marketing student Lavinia won a competition by the University of Salford enterprise team to receive mentoring for a business start-up.  

Future TV star Lavinia, 36, said: “I’m so excited for the filming to start. It is the largest thing that I and Adaeze have ever done. The show will be a celebration of Urban Christian culture, and it will be a real mix of people who are doing cool stuff.

"There will be music and interviews with actors who are at the top of their game and big sports personalities". 

The twelve part series, called The Juicy Ladies Show, will begin filming at TBN’s London studio near Wembley in two weeks.

Lavinia and Adaeze first met at high school, however it was not until they coincidently bought a house two doors down from each other on the same street in Gorton that they rekindled their friendship and eventually became business partners.

Adaeze, 36, a mum of three children, said: “We had a successful radio show, where we were known as the Juicy Ladies, and from that we began to produce Facebook live videos. Then, last year we emailed TBN, explaining that we are really interested in presenting, and asking what opportunities there may be.

“TBN emailed us back, and invited us down to London to chat more about our business. On the day we were running very late, and thought we had blown our chances. The opposite happened, and it turned out the director of TBN shad already made up his mind, and offered us the show there and then.

I remember pinching myself under the table to check if it was really happening.

Last month, Lavinia and Adaeze were on the committee of the MOBO awards, after organisers contacted them through their business. The role on the committee meant that they had a vital say in which artists received awards in several of the MOBO categories.  

Lavinia added: “When TBN said they were interested in speaking to us, to even get an interview in the first place was mind blowing, so of course we jumped at the opportunity. I think we’ve had such great opportunities because we just roll with it, and we’re both driven by the same thing. My lecturers and the Enterprise team at the university have been great supporters of this venture, and they have encouraged me from the beginning”.

Alex Fenton, a lecturer in Digital Business at Salford Business School, who helped to facilitate the competition that Lavinia won, said: “Lavinia is a shining example of what can be achieved as a Salford student.

"She put into practice her business school degree skills and blew away the competition at our annual Creative Entrepreneur Tech Angels innovation competition at MediaCityUK. Winning the competition was a massive boost for Lavinia and Vinejuice.

"The Tech Angels were so impressed, they decided to further back and support her and the idea. This is exactly the kind of opportunity we are creating at Salford, working with industry and creating opportunities and experiences for our students. Students like Lavinia use these opportunities as a springboard from their degree to continued success”.

Lavinia is currently putting her studies on hold until September while she films the TV show.