Companies and organisations across the TV drama sector have come together to support Bectu‘s TV Drama Production Race Action Plan which is being launched on 17th September.
Almost 50 companies are supporting it, including all of the trade unions and the guilds involved in TV drama along with the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Creative Diversity Network (CDN), British Film Institute, British Film Commission, Film London, crewing agents, and providers of diary services.
Companies and organisations in the hair and beauty industry have also signed up. Ensuring that actors from ethnic minority backgrounds receive equitable hair and make-up provision, with appropriate expertise across different hair textures and skin tones, is a longstanding industry issue.
The plan is designed to support heads of department on TV drama productions to broaden the range of talent they recruit and improve ethnicity representation across their crews. HoDs are required to fulfil the diversity targets and commitments of commissioning organisations and production companies but as they are usually self-employed/freelance they frequently do not have access to proper diversity training. The action plan includes advice and guidance on the recruitment and retention of diverse crews.
Racial abuse and discrimination have historically often been cited as a reason for people leaving the industry. The action plan therefore sets out a voluntary code of conduct and a complaints procedure which has been endorsed by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.
Bectu is co-launching the action plan with CDN on 17 September at 4pm at ITV’s Event Space, ground floor, White City Place, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7RU. It will be accompanied by a networking event enabling ethnic minority professionals to meet with representatives of the supporters including those who hire crew.
Bectu previously launched action plans in the theatre and commercials industries which met with success.
Philippa Childs, head of Bectu, said: “The fragmented nature of the tv and film industries mean that progress on diversity has proven piecemeal and hard to sustain. It needs a coordinated industry-wide standard which is what this action plan aims to provide and is why it’s so positive that so many organisations have signed up to it.
“Addressing gaps in representation requires deliberate action but it is hard, especially in an industry where employment is precarious and people regularly move from one independent producer to another. The action plan provides practical advice so that Heads of Department and others can build that necessary skill set and take it from production to production.
“With so many organisations backing this action plan hopefully we can develop an industry both on and off the screen which reflects the whole of our country.”
Miranda Wayland, CEO, Creative Diversity Network said: “For a decade, CDN’s Diamond data has provided the evidence. The challenge has always been turning that evidence into sustained change. We welcome this Action Plan as a significant step forward, recognising that improving representation in TV drama requires long-term commitment, collective action and accountability across the industry.”
Jon Creamer
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