The Film and TV Charity’s Whole Picture Toolkit: for mentally healthy productions is being championed by an increasing number of leading organisations across the industry, the charity has announced a year on from the initiative’s inception. It has been used on more than 70 productions in the last year and is now being adopted on all new commissions from the likes of Banijay UK, specialist factual commissions at BBC Content, cross-genre productions at Sky, and is also shortly to be trialled on daytime factual and features commissions at Channel 4. Various productions made by ITV Studios are already using the toolkit, and ITV’s Media and Entertainment division has embedded it into the commissioning process, with all third-party producers offered a toolkit introduction or workshop.
“There couldn’t be a more important time for Broadcasters and Producers to come together to tackle the mental health crisis that exists across our industry,” said Anna Mishcon, Whole Picture Toolkit executive at the Film and TV Charity. “The Whole Picture Toolkit’s online platform is full of a wealth of resources, a one stop shop that puts mental health and wellbeing at the heart of your production. Its aim is simple – to make sure every individual on every production is supported and heard.”
The Whole Picture Toolkit was conceived in response to the charity’s 2019 Looking Glass Survey, which highlighted a mental health crisis in the industry. Launched in 2022 as part of the charity’s Let’s Reset behaviour change campaign, which called on industry leaders to demonstrate positive change from the top down, the Whole Picture Toolkit is a central pillar in the charity’s strategic approach to improving the industry’s mental health and wellbeing.
Dawn Beresford, director of talent, commissioning at BBC Content, said, “BBC Content is delighted to be piloting the Whole Picture Toolkit with our Specialist Factual Commissioners. The Toolkit is a one stop shop for the producers we work with to build mentally healthy productions. The BBC has a long-standing commitment to raising awareness of mental health issues through our programming and our Mental Health season this May, and I’m pleased that our pilot of the Toolkit will enable us build on this and do more to support wellbeing across the whole industry.”
Any interested parties can get in touch with the team at [email protected] or via the website.
