Diversity front and centre at Edinburgh TV Festival as industry told to do better
Diversity and equality were at the heart of discussions last week, when TV titans rolled into Edinburgh for its annual festival.
Okay, so it was a virtual festival, but the flagship industry event tackled the issue head-on, centreing largely on disabled representation and black talent.
The timing could not have been better, with a new report revealing this week that disabled people who work in the British television industry are facing “consistent difficulties” when it comes to career progression, with 80% of those surveyed saying their disabilities have adversely affected their careers.
Jack Thorne gave this year’s MacTaggart Lecture. Pic: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Jack Thorne delivered this year’s headline MacTaggart Lecture at the event, slamming the TV industry saying it has “failed disabled people, utterly and totally.”
The prolific screen and play writer, who is known for projects such as His Dark Materials and Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, used the speech to launch a group named Underlying Health Condition, which will lobby the industry to be more accessible and a fund will be set up to pay for it.
Thorne, who was diagnosed with cholinergic urticaria (which makes sufferers allergic to their own body heat) also said that his disability is invisible, and “as a white man with all the privilege that entails… I have had opportunities that my disabled family have not”.
The push towards inclusion was underlined at the festival by the likes of streaming giant Netflix, which said that its policy of “show not tell” when it came to achieving its diversity goals was working, and that viewers can expect to see changes on screens in the next few years.
Vice president for original series Anne Mensah said that while the company is not “perfect”, it is “working towards it”.
The BBC also weighed in, with chief content controller Charlotte Moore agreeing with Thorne, saying of his speech: “I think it makes all of us say, ‘We know we’re changing but my God we’ve got to change faster’.”
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Hollywood firepower also became part of the conversation too, with Hamilton writer and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda saying the industry needs a “chorus of voices” and to attack the inequalities that exist.
“Some of it is really attacking that stuff systemically and supporting folks who are at the ground-floor level of this industry and making sure that a living wage exists, so that I can make a living doing the thing I love,” he said.
Racial inequality was also discussed at the festival – a year on from the Black Lives Matter movement and the conversation about having black voices more represented on (and off) screen.
Queer Eye star Tan France, who acted as the international editor of the festival, said the TV industry in the UK was “lightyears” behind the US, and that he feels tokenism has become commonplace in place of actual representation.
Tan France, (L) was the festival’s international editor. Pic: Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP
This was a view echoed by comedian London Hughes, who said that it shouldn’t take the death of an unarmed black man to get networks to employ black talent.
Hughes had previously criticised Channel 4 for its Black To Front initiative, which she described as “performative tokenism”, telling the conference: “The people in charge need to do more… I wish George Floyd didn’t have to die for Alison Hammond to get a slot on This Morning.
“She should have had it already.”
But these were the same conversations being had 12 months ago, and networks will now need to put their money where their mouths are and follow through on their promises of better commissioning policies and more inclusive hiring practices.
Irish-language rap group Kneecap have announced a surprise London show, hours after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.
Liam O’Hanna, or Liam Og O Hannaidh, was charged with displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation, at a concert in London last November, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.
Just hours later, Kneecap announced on their Instagram account that “we’re back”, adding that they would perform at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, London, on Thursday night.
The post also included a quote by former Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon, who told ITV’s Good Morning Britain the rap trio “maybe (…) need a bloody good kneecapping” after footage of the band allegedly calling for the deaths of MPs emerged.
Kneecap performing in Belfast last year. Pic: PA
Kneecap apologised to the families of murdered MPs last month, but said footage of the incident at their concert had been “exploited and weaponised”, adding that they “never supported” Hamas or Hezbollah.
The rappers had gigs cancelled after the footage emerged and politicians pushed for Kneecap to be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch calling for Kneecap to be banned.
The group from Belfast in Northern Ireland is still set to headline Wide Awake Festival in south London on Friday.
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In response to O’Hanna being charged, Kneecap said that they “deny this ‘offence’ and will vehemently defend ourselves” and branded it “political policing” in a bid to “silence voices of compassion”.
The charge came after counter-terror police assessed a video said to be from a Kneecap concert.
In the footage, O’Hanna is allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, on 21 November last year.
Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were made aware of a video circulating online on 22 April and an investigation led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the charge, the force said.
O’Hanna – who performs under the stage name Mo Chara – is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 June.
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