Ayo Edebiri is right – assistants really do need thanking

When I saw Ayo Edebiri's acceptance speech at the 81st annual Golden Globes, I gave an inward cheer. Edebiri – who won the award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy TV series for her role in The Bear – took her moment on stage to give a shout out to that most underrated, undervalued cog in the machine: the assistant.

As a former assistant myself, I not only appreciated but totally understood what Edebiri meant when she thanked "all of my agents' and managers' assistants," adding: "Y'all are real ones. Thank you for answering my crazy, crazy emails." Even Taylor Swift could be seen applauding in the audience, and seemingly say "yup!" in agreement with Edebiri's words.

It's not entirely surprising that Edebiri, a frequent face on the picket lines during last year's SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, chose to speak up for behind-the-scenes Hollywood crew members, but it's still unusual – normally, assistants don't get much air-time.

It might have been very far from LA, but my first assistant role – my first full-time job, in fact – was actually imbued with a little reflected glamour. I was the second assistant (back then, important figures often had more than one) to a very stylish and revered literary agent, who would wear sky-high heels to the office every day and whizz around town on the back of a motorbike.

My job was simple (or so it seemed): to book tables and taxis, and deal with the day-to-day running of her life. In fact, it was one of the most complicated jobs I've ever done, and encompassed everything from hairdressers screaming at me in German (never try to change a blow-dry appointment on the eve of the Frankfurt Book Fair) to late-night trips to Fortnum & Mason in December, the doors of which were kept open for me so that I could buy some crackers for my boss' last-minute Christmas dinner.

I learnt so much in this role that, when I decided to switch careers and become a journalist, I was thrilled to be taken on as an assistant by a much-admired (and, honestly, much-feared) editor. She was famous for her Miranda Priestly-esque tendencies and, to this day, it's still the job people ask me about most. However, though there were plenty of film-worthy moments (the driver at Paris Fashion Week getting arrested springs to mind) it was the biggest learning curve I've had to date.

In that magazine job, I watched my boss conduct meetings, take phone calls, hire and fire. She could be utterly terrifying, yes, but to me she was always fair and encouraging. These days, I generally run my working life according to what she taught me: for example, I never go to a meeting without a notebook, and I always try to spotlight and hero the work of other women, something about which she was particularly passionate. Whenever I'm late for a meeting, I can hear her chiding me in my head; likewise, if I ever err on the wrong side of casual dress for work.

Assistants are so often the beating heart of an office, responsible for booking travel, inputting expenses, making tea and, yes, replying to a fair few "crazy, crazy emails". And yet, so often their contributions go overlooked – a fact that's particularly galling given that executive and personal assistant roles are filled by women 94 per cent of the time.

My assistant jobs were some of the hardest I've ever worked, and also mark some of the moments I'm proudest of in my career to date. Being at the bottom of the ladder taught me how to get on with everyone, how to be organised and, most importantly, how to graft hard to get where you want to be.

I keep in touch with both the wonderful women for whom I was an assistant, and I consider it a great testament to our working relationships that we keep up with each others' careers. I'll always remember them both for giving me the large majority of my 'big breaks' – although I won't necessarily miss making quite so many cups of tea.