Charity takes action following 800% surge in demand

The Film and TV Charity has boosted its hardship support to industry workers in financial need following a surge in demand for help.

It is to plough a further £500,000 into its pot to support TV, film and cinema workers facing financial hardship following an 800% increase in applications by those in need of urgent stop gap grants in the 12 months to July this year.

The cost-of-living crisis, the global impact of the US actors’ and writers’ strikes and production budget cuts are behind the increase, says the charity, which was founded almost 100 years ago.

Broadcasters BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Prime Video have pledge further donations to the charity to bolster its budget and “other partners are expected to add to the overall pot as the challenging period looks set to continue,” said the charity.

According to the charity around half of workers in film, TV and cinema have no or less than £1,000 in savings and a similar proportion are not contributing to a pension.

“People from marginalised groups were more likely to be affected, it added.

🎉 Important news! 🎉

We’ve added an extra £500,000 to our budget, so we can help support more UK film, TV & cinema workers in urgent financial need! 🙌

(1/5) pic.twitter.com/9VxhFrbLYx
— The Film and TV Charity (@FilmTVCharity) August 21, 2023

The charity’s chief executive Marcus Ryder said: “The rise in grants applications we have seen, and the testimony we are hearing from production staff feeling the effects of a wide range of factors all serve to underline a systemic problem with the financial resilience of the workforce who drive the UK production sector.

He added that financial instability is emerging “as a growing concern and a significant contributor to the mental health and wellbeing of film, TV, and cinema workers, especially freelancers and other already marginalised worker”.

Channel 4 director of commissioning Emma Hardy said: “The TV production sector is facing unprecedented challenges and we know that many freelancers are struggling.

“This is an industry-wide issue that needs industry-wide solutions, and we are grateful to the Film and TV Charity for leading this project to help freelancers in urgent financial need.”