BBC, ITV, Channel 4 join almost 50 companies backing Bectu’s Race Action Plan

UK broadcasters the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have joined a cohort of almost 50 companies supporting creative industries trade body Bectu’s TV Drama Production Race Action Plan.

Philippa Childs

The action plan, launched yesterday, 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.

Other supporters include the Creative Diversity Network, the British Film Institute, the British Film Commission, Film London and all of the trade unions and guilds involved in TV drama. Companies and organisations in the hair and beauty industry, who work in TV and film, have also signed up.

Heads of department are required to fulfil the diversity targets and commitments of commissioning organisations and production companies, but as they are usually self-employed or freelance, frequently do not have access to proper diversity training, according to Bectu. The action plan includes advice and guidance on the recruitment and retention of diverse crews.

The action plan also sets out a voluntary code of conduct and a complaints procedure that has been endorsed by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service to tackle racial abuse and discrimination, which Bectu said has historically often been cited as a reason for people leaving the industry.

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 co-ordinated 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.”