Carole Hersee

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Carole Hersee (born 25 November 1958 in Redhill, Surrey) is most notable for appearing as an eight year old child in the central image of the iconic United Kingdom television Test Card F, along with Bubbles the Clown.

The card was developed by her late father George Hersee, an engineer for the BBC in 1967 and used on television in the UK and elsewhere for more than four decades, usually while no programmes were being broadcast. According to Keith Hamer, a collector of test cards, Carole is in the Guinness Book Of Records^[1] as the person who has appeared on television for more hours than anyone else - an estimated total of 70,000 hours, equivalent to nearly eight years. She was paid only £100 for this by the BBC.^[2] (According to the Telegraph article, "...it can’t be put in the Guinness Book of Records because it isn’t a record that somebody else can achieve, apparently.")

She went on to attend Farnham Comprehensive School and as an adult became a seamstress for a theatrical costumiers. She has created costumes for several West End theatre productions and film productions including Flash Gordon and Dangerous Liaisons.

Talking about the Test Card on BBC Radio 4's The News Quiz, comedian Jeremy Hardy claimed that he had attended school with Carole, mistakenly identifying her as 'Catherine or Gillian Hersee'. He stated "I was at school with that girl. Catherine Hersee. Or Gillian Hersee, one of the Hersee girls was...yeah. She was the girl in the thing with the balloon and the clown."^[3].