Winnipeg woman lands role of a lifetime as seat-filler to the stars at Emmy Awards

Glitz, glam and fame the75thPrimetime Emmy Awards had it all and a Winnipeg woman managed to snag a front row seat to it all. Sort of.

Amanda Buhse got the call on Sundaynotifying her to catch a flight to Los Angeles to be a seat-filler for the show the next day. She had applied just two days earlier and was shocked to hear she'd get the chance to sit next to Hollywood royalty.

She grabbeda black Ralph Lauren dress she had from a previous wedding, threw it in her bag with some high heels and acouple other outfits and headed to the airport.

"It happened very last-minute," Buhsetold Up to Speedguest host Emily Brass. "I arrived into L.A. Monday morning about an hour before I actually had to be at the event.... It was the most, I think, quick and furiously exciting 24 hours of my entire life."

She said the job is to fill vacant seats in the first 10 rows of live award shows when nominees or presenters are heading on stage, getting a drink or going to the washroom so the audience looks full. Seat fillers who are waiting in the wings rush in to fill the void.

"You see these live televised events on TV and they're so seamless and they're supposed to be,"Buhse said.

"But it's so fascinating to see what happens behind the scenes during those commercial breaks. It's just chaos up until even a second before the next segment goes live."

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Guest host Emily Brass speaks to Winnipegger, Amanda Buhse, about her experience as a seat filler at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.

Over the past two years, Buhse has applied online a couple times through acompany that hires seat-fillers for the Emmys and Grammys.

This was the first time she landed the role, and competition was tight: Buhse said there were 6,000 applicants and only 50 selected.Buhsesaid she is the only one from Canada selected.

She was shocked and honoured. Short-notice flights to L.A. were expensive but she says she couldn't miss out on the"once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Just walking in, you're awestruck.This beautiful theatre is so huge. There's every single person that you know in television is there watching you."

One of those people was Natasha Lyonne, who was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her roleinPoker Face.

In the course of her duties,BuhsesaysLyonnecomplimented her hairdo.

"I was like 'Oh my gosh!' This night has already been an achievement because I love her."

Buhsesaid it was cool to see celebrities mingling off-camera.

At different times she got to sitin front of Trevor Noah, to the right of Bill Hader and behindChristina Applegate. When Applegate went on stage,Buhsegot tapped to keep her seat warm.

"That was, I think, the pinnacle moment," she said. "It was unreal."