Bectu

How to do good duty of care for staff and crew: inside television’s mental health crisis

The six sit in front of a small brown table, talking

Belatedly, television seems to be waking up to the mental health crisis in the industry.

Progress is being made but there is still a huge amount of work to do. Even leading campaigners recognise that improving mental health is no easy task, not least in facing up to personal circumstances.

Marcus Ryder, CEO of the Film and TV Charity, arrived at the last possible moment for the RTS National Event on duty of care last month, apologising to the event organisers for oversleeping after leaving work feeling ill. This, he admitted to the audience, was a lie.

End the cycle of feast and famine

Head of Bectu Philippa Childs stands speaking at a lecturn

The crisis for TV freelances looks set to continue for the foreseeable future. This was one of the conclusions of a sobering lecture given by Bectu Head Philippa Childs to the RTS late last month.

The union leader pulled no punches regarding “the perfect storm” that has engulfed parts of the UK TV sector, especially for those who work on unscripted programmes.