TV

Parallels were drawn between TV’s ambitions to decarbonise and its far-from-swift attempts to introduce a more diverse and inclusive workforce during a fascinating session, “How clean is TV?”, organised by RTS Technology Centre.

Frustrated that he couldn’t get a break in TV, comedian Munya Chawawa took to impersonating celebrity offspring. “I was so desperate… I told a TV agent that I was Idris Elba’s son, which obviously you can’t verify until you see the person. I’d turn up and they’d say to me: ‘Look. If you had 30,000 followers, maybe we’d talk to you. We like your showreel but you’ve got no profile.’”

Chawawa felt his comedy suited TikTok’s “quick bursts of entertainment…. Most videos have one punchline at the end, so my rule was that I was going to have 11 punchlines in 60 seconds.”

‘Here’s a statistic that’s pretty mind-blowing: in recent years, the [creative] industries have delivered more economic value than life sciences, aerospace and the automotive sectors combined. And yet skills, and the people who have the right ones, are currently the biggest single inhibitor of growth.” So said Kimberly Godbolt, founder of TV recruitment company Talented People, in her introduction to an RTS panel discussion on the skills shortage.

My idea of heaven is Monty Python’s Whicker’s World spoof, Whicker Island, where our hero wistfully waters whisky while wantonly waxing words with W. For me, hell would be a post-lockdown lock-in in a dodgy pub full of TV pundits.

Brexit and football have taught me not only to distrust these people, but to despise them as they fling unsubstantiated opinions around like the proverbial brown stuff hitting the fan. It is messy, unpleasant and the odour stays with you for ages.

RTS London Centre has produced an online event to celebrate this milestone, and this article contains links to other sites and sources we think will interest you.

A good starting place is the BBC’s own history site, with a huge range of archive footage and oral history interviews with some key figures, including Biddy Baxter MBE, Editor of Blue Peter for 23 years.

From scratch nights writing music for plays performed above pubs, to composing for Black Mirror, Vanity Fair, Fleabag and The ABC Murders, Waller-Bridge is making an impact in the film and TV industry.

“I absolutely love film. I love the world they can take you to, what they can do with your imagination,” Waller-Bridge enthuses.

Throughout our conversation, she talks a lot about collaboration, how important it is and the key part it plays in why she loves her job.

When I learnt of the Royal Television Society (RTS) bursaries in 2015, I knew I had to apply. Any organisation actively committed to the diversification and inclusion of underrepresented groups within the British media will always hold a place in my heart. Plus, being part of the RTS is a great opportunity to network with media industry leaders - an opportunity that I was very unlikely to stumble across as a young black woman, from a low-income family.