Almost one in four people in senior roles across UK broadcasters and production companies were privately educated, according to the latest report from the TV Foundation.The report, titled Let’s Talk About Class: Appealing to the UK’s Largest TV Audience, found that 22% of top decision-makers in the industry went to fee-paying schools – nearly three times the national average of 7.5%.The findings expose a stark social imbalance in TV’s upper echelons and suggest that working-class talent continues to face systemic barriers to leadership roles.The report, part of the TV Foundation’s ongoing work on class and social equality, was inspired by playwright James Graham’s 2024 MacTaggart lecture, which challenged the industry to address its class problem head-on.Compiled by engaging 21 major UK indies, broadcasters and streamers, alongside contributions from academics and sector experts, the report draws a clear line between educational privilege and access to influence in the TV industry.It argues that a lack of social diversity among gatekeepers has a knock-on effect on the stories that get told and the audiences who feel represented.Class cuts across everything, the report notes, adding that traditional definitions of British working-class identity often overlook the intersectional realities of class, race, gender and geography.The research frames the issue not just as a moral imperative but a commercial one, warning that working-class audiences – the UK’s largest – are at risk of being alienated by content that fails to reflect their lives, or falls back on outdated stereotypes.With the industry already under pressure from wider diversity, equity and inclusion setbacks and a worsening economic climate, the report suggests that opportunities for structural change may be slipping away.Without urgent intervention, the report cautions, UK television could edge further towards a cultural monoculture – one that no longer represents or resonates with the majority of its audience.Gemma Bradshaw, impact director of the TV Foundation, said it is a subject the industry ignores at its peril.“Since starting the class and social equality working group, we have heard many difficult and painful stories about the hurdles in people’s TV careers that were all the bigger because of their class background,” Bradshaw said.“It’s hard to talk about class, and we want people to feel more confident to do that, to share what they value and how they see the world. Because when we have, we’ve also heard many bold and even joyful stories of individuals and teams that understand their working-class audiences and have the culture and leadership to do more.“The aim of the report is to move the conversation about class up the agenda, making it business critical and provide companies with the inspiration to move away from talking about people in terms of their ‘cultural fit’ or ‘risk’ and start talking about what they bring, their ‘culture add’, showing how bringing a working class lens behind screen can play into a programme’s strengths on screen.”
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