Efforts to ensure greater representation of black creatives off-screen in UK have ‘stalled’
BAME off-screen representation is at the same level as 2021
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Progress on increasing the representation of black creatives off screen following the Black Lives Matter movement has stalled in the UK, with representation of black people even declining in some areas, according to the Creative Diversity Network (CDN)’s annual report for 2025.
CDN said this suggests initial commitments from industry players did not lead to embedded, structural change, and it comes after numerous figures have spoken out against an apparent rowing back on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in the past couple of years.
The proportion of contributions made by black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups decreased in 2025 both on and off screen, the report has found.
Despite a few years of increased representation across cast and crew between 2021 and 2024, off-screen representation is now the same as it was in 2021 (13%), according to the report.
The proportion of contributions made by black people has decreased from 4% in 2022 to 2.7% in 2025 and remains below the national workforce benchmark (5.2%).
BAME groups are well represented on-screen, making 23% of contributions in 2025, higher than national population estimates (17.5%). On-screen representation is much higher in scripted (36%) than in non-scripted (20%) roles.
Off-screen representation in drama has increased for each of the past five years – from a very low 5.9% in 2020 to 18% in 2025. There has been little change or a downward trend in other genres. Comedy and factual entertainment programmes had the lowest representation in 2025, both around 11% of contributions.
For black writers specifically, contributions peaked at nearly 9% in 2024 after a fourfold increase from 2022, but this figure dropped to 6.1% in 2025. Screenwriting remains one of the few off-screen areas where black representation exceeds the national workforce estimate.
Meanwhile, over a five-year period, contributions from women writers rose from 33.4% to 40.7%, and contributions from BAME writers significantly expanded from 6.5% to 21.3%.
CDN’s Diamond report, which covers the period from January 1 to December 31, 2025, also shows that women remain underrepresented in senior creative roles. While women writers have seen gains, the proportion of women directors has stagnated over the last five years.
The annual report analyses data gathered through CDN’s Diamond workforce monitoring and reporting platform to highlight where progress has stalled or drifted backwards as well as identify where evidence-based action has yielded results.
On the latter, off-screen representation of disabled people grew across almost every genre from 8.9% to 10.9% over the past year, while on-screen representation climbed from 9.3% to 11.3%.
This comes after CDN’s annual report for 2022/23 pinpointed improving representation of people with disabilities in UK TV as a priority.
However, while Diamond data on disability representation shows “transformative” advances over the last few years, disabled creatives remain significantly underrepresented and representation is not keeping pace with the growing number of disabled people in the population, CDN said.
Disabled people remain underrepresented both off screen (10.9%) and on screen (11.3%) compared to the national workforce (16.9%).
Additionally, CDN said the steady progress in representation year-on-year has been predominantly driven by increased contributions from people with learning and cognitive disabilities or mental health conditions.
Contributions by individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have musculoskeletal conditions have remained flat for five years, suggesting more targeted work is urgently required, CDN said.
CDN will launch an enhanced iteration of Diamond on September 30, developed in partnership with the UK’s main broadcasters and following extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders across the UK television sector.
Reporting using data gathered under the new system will start in 2027/28. Until then, CDN will continue to report on data gathered under the existing Diamond system.
CDN will also be publishing deep dives into data covering socioeconomic status and religion and belief for the first time later this year.
Paul Moore, chair of CDN and group communications and corporate affairs director at UK broadcaster ITV, said: “As chair of CDN, I am deeply encouraged by the industry’s continued resolve to drive progress, create fairer pathways for development and build a stronger, more inclusive future for us all.
“This latest report spotlights that even during a period of profound structural change across the UK television landscape, evidence-based action is yielding results, such as the increase in disabled representation, higher numbers of female writers and a significant expansion of contributions by black, Asian and ethnic minority writers.
“However, the real power of Diamond lies in its ability to look beyond headlines and track changes over time to expose where progress has stalled or drifted backward.
“Diamond shows us the risks of complacency, of assuming the job is done when we see initial improvements and then shifting our gaze rather than maintaining momentum. At CDN we will continue to work with our partners across the industry to remain focused on ensuring the UK television workforce truly reflects the richness of our society.”
