But that’s just what the now associate director for Reed Specialist Recruitment in the Middle East has recently been involved in.

The Hydra Executives is a real estate reality show on the Showtime cable channel that invited eight Americans and eight British candidates to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) to take part in a business competition. The contestants developed a business plan around their real estate concept for the prize of a cool $1m investment to bring their idea to fruition.

Maria was asked by one half of the winning US team, Hannah Dodkin, to be their business consultant. And the other half, architect Richard Best, obviously thought Maria swung it for them: “The input and guidance Maria provided was crucial in developing a detailed business plan for the pitch.”

And because their winning idea — for a start-up, multi-faceted green (sustainable) design services firm — is aimed at developers in the UAE, as she is based there Maria hopes that she can provide the team with recruitment services when they blossom.