Latest in Bectu

EXCLUSIVE: The British producer calling for an unscripted TV tax credit is planning on taking his blueprint to the broadcasters and organizing a letter to new Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. Derek Drennan’s petition for the new credit has been signed by more than 150 execs via LinkedIn as Deadline…

After a historic victory for the Labour Party, attention in the film and TV industries now turns to the future. Following an all-too brief post-Covid boom era, it’s been a particularly tough couple of years for the sector, with the global recession, dual U.S. strikes and market contraction taking…

Trigger warning: this article includes mention of suicide and other topics that readers may find disturbing. Channel 4 has ordered an independent investigation into the death of a producer who took his own life after working on the UK broadcaster’s true crime series In the Footsteps of Killers…

The overwhelming majority of workers in UK film and TV have witnessed or experienced sexual harassment, according to a survey from Bectu, which found that high-profile cases like Russell Brand have done little to “shift the dial.” Almost 100% of those working in film, 96% in TV drama and 92% in…

Pan-industry group Coalition for Change, which fights for better working conditions for the UK TV freelance community, has unveiled a trio of committee members. Alongside chair and founder Adeel Amini, executive producer Michelle Woods, series producer/series editor Dominic Pisani and development…

EXCLUSIVE: Ken Loach has been restored to a decision-making role at Bectu after his shock suspension last year, but a bitter internal row at the UK’s biggest film and TV union shows no sign of abating. Deadline revealed in December that Loach, the esteemed BAFTA-winning British film director, was…

“A slap in the face” was the verdict of broadcasting union Bectu to Channel 4 bosses’ decision to accept bonuses this year amidst a 250-staff layoff program. Deadline revealed yesterday that the network’s CEO Alex Mahon, content boss Ian Katz and Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Allan would be…

EXCLUSIVE: Mad Dog 2020 Casting, a 25-year-old British agency that supplies background actors to major productions, is facing legal action after failing to pay scores of clients. Equity and Bectu, two of the most prominent UK creative industry unions, are pursuing legal claims on behalf of members…

“Urgent and joined up action” has been demanded from the UK government by broadcasting union Bectu, which has called for an industry-wide summit and criticized the culture secretary for saying the creative industries are “booming.” Philippa Childs has written a letter to Lucy Frazer this morning…

The boss of the Bectu union has urged British broadcasters to have an “open and honest conversation about what the future looks like” with the ailing freelance workforce, while revealing concerns over future U.S. strike action. Positing that the UK TV industry’s freelance community is currently at…

The BBC is “considering” the findings of a study that found production costs would increase by a minimal amount if the working day was reduced from 10 to eight hours. The ‘Designing a blueprint for a shorter working day in film and scripted drama’ blueprint found that costs would rise by just 4% if…

EXCLUSIVE: In October 2023, the British TV drama community was as confused as it was surprised to be told that some of the most well-known production companies in the country were being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for “suspected anti-competitive behaviour.” For those…