Paige recovers from car crash and loss of hearing to gain 2:1 and make first film industry steps
Paige Elliott is making her first steps into the film industry after surviving a car crash during her Media Make-up, Special Effects and Hair Design degree that left her with head injuries, unable to hear and suffering seizures.
Despite the serious road traffic collision, Paige went on to secure a 2:1 on her York College University Centre course, which saw her commute to Sim Balk Lane from Scotland.
She celebrated her graduation with her granddad at York Minster last summer and is now making industry inroads, having worked on short films in Glasgow and completed a Get Set Go Film & TV workshop with BBC Scotland.
Paige, 26, also recently came close to landing a job in the make-up department of ITV’s iconic, long-running soap drama Coronation Street.
All that progress represents a remarkable achievement for Paige who showed incredible resilience to complete her studies and, with the help of her tutors, gain an excellent final grade.
When she suffered the car crash, the cochlear implant she had fitted as a small child and relied on to communicate with people for 22 years was damaged, meaning an operation was required to embed a replacement.
Paige is still adapting to the new device and, recalling how difficult it was to suffer such serious injuries midway through her York School of Art degree course, she said: “After the car crash (in July 2024), I didn’t know whether I’d be able to finish the degree. I had seizures, head injuries and had to have a new cochlear implant operation to enable me to hear again.
“During the first month after the crash, I couldn’t hear anything at all. Then, when I came back to College, I struggled to hear anything in class and was worried I’d miss things, but I had quite a lot of support from College to help me get through.
“I had a BSL (British Sign Language) interpreter and a note taker, as well as study session support. I’d had my old implant for 22 years and could hear perfectly but, with the new one, I’m still learning.
“I’ve had to go through a new process of hearing again. It’s going to take a long time before I can hear clearly again and background noise is difficult, but I graduated with a 2:1 and I’m proud that I had the determination to never give up.”
On the role her tutors played in supporting her through the trauma and achieving academic success, Paige added: “They were amazing. When I couldn’t hear anything, they made sure I had enough support in place to come here and study.
“They encouraged me to think that I could do it and that nothing should stop me. It was quite a hard course, but I always got support when I wasn’t sure of something.”
While she might have been forgiven for getting some rest after completing her degree, Paige has been busy over the past six months making impressive strides career-wise.
“I’ve been working on short films in Glasgow and completed a Get Set Go Film and TV workshop with BBC Scotland,” she revealed. “I am hoping to work full time in the film or TV industry around the UK and was also interviewed for a job in the make-up department at Coronation Street doing special effects and wig making.
“I was close to getting it and it was quite a good experience to go on the set and see what it’s like. I’ve watched the show since I was a little girl and saw the actor who plays Todd (Gareth Pierce). People from my course have won Oscars, Emmys and Baftas and, hopefully, one day, I can be walking on red carpets with famous people, too!”
On balancing living in another country while studying at York College, Paige explained: “I enrolled on the course because I want to work in the film industry and I needed to learn more skills by doing a degree. The course was great in that respect and I enjoyed making face masks and props like silicone hands.
“I also did a lot more scientific work, as before I had just focussed on make-up, but I learned a lot of special effects skills at College. There are no media make-up degree courses in Scotland, so I chose to come down to York.
“I travelled from Kirkcaldy in Fife by train and, then, got on the bus. A group of us travelling down from Scotland also had a hostel that we stayed in for two days.”
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