Holland, Warner among 24 industry execs in class and social equity working group
Edinburgh TV Festival-owner The TV Foundation has announced the 24 industry figures who will be part of the class and social equity working group, including Banijay UK CEO Patrick Holland and soon-to-be BBC Studios exec Karl Warner.
Karl Warner
The group – part of the Foundation’s recently launched Impact Unit – has been formed to help people from all backgrounds gain access to and develop their careers in the TV industry, as well as to support purpose-led TV content.
The 24 TV execs, selected from almost 130 submissions also includes: Alison Ramsay, Amber Haque, Bradley Down, Ceri Aston, Chanise Evans, David Leach, David Macpherson, Emma Morris, Gama Gbio, Gina Lyons, Hannah Livingston, Jackie Myburgh, Jon Green, Lisa Gifford, Lucie Duxbury, Luke Seraphin, Mark Wynter, Neila Butt, Nicola Crowther, Sabrina Parmar, Tammie Meera Ash and Tessa Matchett.
Observers from The Sutton Trust and the British Screen Forum will also be joining the main working group, bringing their expertise on social mobility. In addition, a separate sub-group of education, training and industry bodies will collaborate with the Impact Unit to share ideas.
The Impact Unit will be led by Gemma Bradshaw, Impact director, in an expansion of her remit since joining the TV Foundation last year from One World Media.
Bradshaw said: “There is definitely a momentum building, recognising that supporting working class people getting into, and crucially moving up in, the industry is not only the right thing to do, it’s what audiences want; to have more authentic stories on screen.
“This is not a small task, but the working group are ready to show it can be possible to have a career in the industry and to find ways to make it achievable not only for those from working class backgrounds, but for everyone.”