The UK’s TV and film industry has seen an increase in the number of people who are planning to leave within the next five years – from 24 per cent in September 2023 to 37 per cent in February 2024.
The figures are part of new research based on a poll by Bectu of 4,000 UK film and TV workers working across films, TV and commercials.
More than two-thirds of respondents are still out of work following both the Hollywood strikes and the slowdown in production.
Many workers, especially women and those from ethnic minority backgrounds, as well as those working in unscripted TV, said they plan to leave film and TV work altogether.
Key findings include:
- 68 per cent of respondents are currently not working, only a tiny decrease from September 2023 (74 per cent), and 68 per cent report their employment being directly affected by the industry slowdown.
- 30% per cent have had no work at all in the past three months, while 34 per cent have had less than a month’s work since November.
- 58 per cent say they have not seen any recovery in their employment since the end of industrial action in the US.
- BAME respondents were less likely to have worked at all over the past three months than their white counterparts (29 per cent of white respondents have not worked at all, while 38 per cent of Asian/British Asian, 34 per cent of those of mixed ethnic backgrounds and 32 per cent of Black respondents say the same).
- Women were among those least likely to see a future in the industry – 40 per cent of female respondents said they see themselves in another industry in five years compared to 34 per cent of men.
On the back of the findings, Bectu has written to secretary of state for culture, media and sport Lucy Frazer, calling on her to convene an urgent industry summit to discuss the crisis and commit government and industry to taking action.
Bectu is also calling for:
- A greater focus on equality and diversity in the industry
- Government to work with industry, unions and the freelance workforce to better understand the state of the industry and what must be done to address the crisis, including reviewing examples from other countries that provide a safety net for creative freelancers.
Commenting on the findings, head of Bectu Philippa Childs said: “There has been a lot of discussion about the state of the UK’s film and TV industry over the past year – about strikes in the US, a downturn in ad revenue, and reduced commissioning.
“Far too many workers – particularly women and those from the global majority – told us they intend to leave the industry altogether within five years.
“The time for warm words and platitudes is over. You cannot have a thriving industry without a thriving and properly supported workforce, and we hope this report is the alarm bell the industry needs.”
