Toxic TV workplaces

In addition to widespread unemployment and financial insecurity, the Bectu broadcasting union’s Big Bectu Survey 2025 has highlighted “longstanding issues with employment practices and workplace cultures in the creative industries”.

Three-quarters (74%) of more than 3,600 respondents working in television reported tolerance of “behaviour that would be unacceptable in other industries”. And 62% reported that they had experienced or witnessed bullying and harassment in the past year.

The survey also found that nearly one in five workers were “really struggling” with their wellbeing, rising to almost a quarter in unscripted TV, and two-thirds reporting feeling anxious or depressed in the past year.

Head of Bectu Philippa Childs warned: “Without urgent action from broadcasters, streamers and production companies, we risk losing a generation of talent and further entrenching inequality in the industry.”