Miquita Oliver & Fi Cotter Craig: 'We go running together. She is younger than me - and faster, which is very disappointing'

The presenter and TV producer worked together on '24 Hours in the Past'

Oliver (left) and Cotter Craig at Andrea Oliver's pub, the Jackdaw & Star, in London (Jean Goldsmith)

Miquita Oliver, 30

A TV and radio presenter, Oliver (left in picture) is the daughter of Andrea Oliver, formerly singer with post-punk band Rip, Rig + Panic, and later a TV presenter. She lives in west London

My mum runs a restaurant in east London now, and Fi went there for dinner one night. They obviously got to talking, and Mum called me afterwards to say she had met this fantastic TV producer, and that I should meet her too. She says this quite a lot, to be honest, so it pretty much went in one ear and out the other. But then, two weeks later, Fi called me to say that she was working on this new BBC show in which six people live and work as Victorians for a week, and would I like to do it?

It was strange, because the moment I heard her voice on the phone, I just got her. She has a very specific tone, Fi; she sounded so smart, so warm, and kind. Familiar, too. We were speaking for the first time, yet it felt like I had known her for ages.

The Victorians show is like no TV I've done. I'm used to presenting programmes about pop music, interviewing pop stars, and hosting awards. But this was hardcore: no script, no rules, so it was all unknown to me, and a bit of a leap. But I had recently turned 30 – and had a nervous breakdown about that – so I was going through a period of challenging myself. I'd recently run a marathon, for example. So when Fi offered me this show that was so out of my comfort zone, I said yes straightaway. But God it was harsh – living, eating and working like working-class Victorians.

We've only been friends for about six months, but I honestly cannot remember not having Fi in my life. I love smart women, and she is incredibly smart. She is older than me, of course, but she treats me differently from anyone I have met in TV. I started presenting when I was 16, and because TV is such a small world, you often end up working with the same people. I would say I've worked with pretty much the same circle of people ever since, so in a way I have always felt cradled by them, protected; they've looked out for me because they've known me since I was a child. With Fi, it's different. She is not maternal with me at all; she treats me like an equal. I often wish I had met her earlier in life, but I'll settle with having met her now rather than never.

I was declared bankrupt a few years ago, which really made me grow up and look in the mirror, face myself, and find strength. I hope I did it in an adult way. Now, coming out the other side of it, everything feels new and fresh, and I'm ready for challenges. Which is why I'm so grateful to Fi. We've been talking about making more programmes together, so it's all very exciting, a new chapter.

It feels weird if I don't talk to her every couple of days. We go running a lot, and while I'm horribly competitive, with Fi it's not about winning at all. It's just about her company. I love being with her.

Fi Cotter Craig, 58

A Bafta-winning TV producer and occasional writer, Cotter Craig recently produced, and appeared in, 'The Island', with Bear Grylls. She lives with her civil partner in north-east London

I'm the executive producer of 24 Hours in the Past and my role was essentially to bring in the talent, people with BBC heartland values but also people who were interesting and diverse. So, Ann Widdecombe, Colin Jackson, Alistair McGowan, Zoë Lucker and Tyger Drew-Honey, who you probably know from Outnumbered. I wanted someone else who was young, someone who might keep Tyger company, and Miquita sprang to mind. I knew her mum, so I thought I'd talk to her to see if she thought Miquita would be interested.

Then we met, and I basically fell in love with her at first sight. She is just enchanting. If you work in television, you meet a lot of famous people, but they are often not very real, somehow. But the best TV presenters are not constructing a persona; they are very much what you see is what you get. Miquita had all this youthful enthusiasm, but no bullshit. I'd always liked watching her on television, on things like Popworld. I thought she was clever and brilliant and funny. In fact, as soon as we met, she made me laugh.

She was immediately interested in taking part in the programme. She confessed she knew very little about Victorian history, but thought the show would be a good way of finding out. I just love that about her! You know how when you meet someone, and they just have this enormous appetite for everything? That's Miquita.

It's common knowledge now that Miquita went bankrupt a few years ago, very publicly; she even made a TV documentary about it [Young, British and Broke: The Truth about Payday Loans, on BBC3 in 2013]. That must have been very difficult for her to deal with, but she did so very rationally. A lot of girls in her position, who have had fame and success really young, might take their position for granted, but not Miquita. She knows that to succeed in this industry, you have to graft.

After I came back from filming The Island, she called saying that she wanted to take me out to dinner, her way of thanking me for casting her. I don't think anybody has ever done that before; flowers, yes, but not dinner. Dinner takes time, and people tend not to offer their time so much, perhaps because time is the most precious thing of all.

We talk all the time now, and we often go running together. She is younger than me – and faster than me, which is very disappointing – but keeping fit together has really bonded us. We will definitely work together again. I think she has Big Live Show Host written all over her, and I would give anything to come up with a format for her. She is ready for it, and she will be brilliant at it.

'24 Hours in the Past' airs on Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC1

Shot on location at Andrea Oliver's pub, the Jackdaw & Star, 224 Homerton High Street, London E9