Britain’s first female “bouncer”, Delia El-Hosayny, 57, from Derbyshire, says the term is outdated and should be scrapped, saying: “People assume bouncers are thugs.”
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00:00I'm Delia Ellisoni and I'm from Derby. Back in 1985 I decided to work the
00:07doors. I then became the first female door woman in England. It was a man's world then.
00:15It was strange to start with. I thought it was a joke, a one-nighter and I did it on
00:22a regular basis. I got to get used to me so it was a case of like get on with it
00:28and eventually I actually stood my ground and they realised I was there to do the business.
00:39I've looked after Ken Dodd, Freddie Starr, Ricky Hatton. I've also looked after,
00:47oh crikey, the world darts champion Gary Anderson, Phil Taylor.
00:51But the rest of the time I was on pubs and clubs every weekend and I enjoyed it. Instead
01:01of going out and getting drunk and spending money, I was earning money and doing the job I love.
01:07I hated the word bouncer. I didn't like it. It reminded me of a gorilla, a silverback gorilla
01:13standing there in a suit and a dickie bow looking and growling at everybody. But I decided to call
01:20myself, instead of a door staff or door supervisor, it sounded better as an ejection technician.
01:26It was all right. They saw a funny side and it made them feel at ease
01:31when they went out and it broke the ice between them and us.