Marcelle Edwards didn’t know she would be a producer in the media industry, but does anyone ever fully know what their future holds?
Edwards was born In Toronto at St. Joseph’s Hospital and grew up in Markham, Ont.
Growing up, her passions included science, math, baking, and storytelling which she would later go into.
“I loved science but then I had a whole other interest in creating stuff,” said Edwards. “I remember when I was a child, I would write lots of stories that I eventually turned into novels and I would write poetry.”
Edwards says growing up her parents had these bookshelves with encyclopedias in their home and she would open up and read them.
After figuring out in high school what she wanted to do, she attended the University of Windsor and received a degree in both biology and psychology.
She did a thesis course in neuroscience as well then after school she needed to take a break due to exhaustion. Then her brother, who was a camera operator, told her about an opportunity at Dome Productions as a receptionist.
“He said we need someone at dome productions, and I was like film productions, what’s that?” said Edwards. “He goes: ‘well we go out and do recordings of professional league games which includes NHL, NBA or any kind of national sport.’”
Eventually, she transitioned to a runner, which meant running stats to the reporter at games, getting production drinks and just supporting overall production during live broadcasts.
“So that job of answering phones led to so many things that I never imagined,” said Edwards. “As I was there, I thought to myself, maybe I should stay but I still wasn’t sure. So, I applied for a job at the Canadian Blood Black blood bank and it was basically a person to do lab tech stuff.”
Around 1999 her big opportunity came when she started interning at Discovery Canada.
“I was getting these opportunities to work on a science show,” said Edwards. “I figured I can use my science degree and help out this production because I know science.”
With an offer from both the Canadian Blood Bank (CBB) to do lab tech stuff and Discovery Canada, her choice was clear.
She decided to stay at Discovery Canada.
She stayed with Discovery Canada’s in-house production company, Exploration Production, for over 20 years as an associate producer working on many different series such as Mighty Ships, a spin-off Mighty Cruise Ships as well as factual documentaries.
Edwards’ former co-worker, Craig Colby, describes her as the queen of associate producers.
“Marcelle is everything you’d want in a collaborator,” said Colby, “smart, hardworking, pleasant and organized. I’d work with Marcelle again in a second. She gives every production she works on a huge boost.”
Earlier this year, Edwards transitioned to the role of producer for Bell Media.
“I feel so blessed to be here and I feel like this job is a blessing. I don’t take it for granted ever,” said Edwards.