Film and TV Charity

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.

A toolkit to boost mental health in TV

The event – led by Freeman, Engagement Producer for both The Film and TV Charity and at Bristol’s BBC Studios – looked at how TV productions can become more mentally healthy.

In 2022, 29% of respondents said they had considered taking their own life during the year. “That’s almost one in three people,” Freeman pointed out. “We’re all bound to know someone.”

The Film and TV Charity offers a range of support to help combat this crisis, including a free 24-hour support line, grants and financial advice.

Marcus Ryder's TV Diary

As I write this, I am “officially” just three weeks and one day into my new role as CEO of The Film and TV Charity. I say “officially” because I was already performing some of the public functions back in August at the Edinburgh Television Festival.

I have not been able to gently ease myself into the job, having taken over at a time when the industry is in crisis and the role of the charity is more important than ever.

Offspring Pictures adopts Whole Picture Toolkit

It cited Bristol-based Offspring Films as a company that had recently used the toolkit on one of its productions, Apple TV+’s Earthsound. 

Valeria Bullo, the project lead for mentally healthy productions, talked through the different stages of production, offering tips, sharing templates and identifying other tools to help implement positive new ways of working.