Let’s Talk About Class: Why It Still Shapes Film & TV Careers

This week, Ash and Jamie discuss the impact of social class on the film and TV industry, from who gets through the door to who gets to stay, progress and make decisions.

Using new research from the University of Leeds as a starting point, they look at informal hiring, freelance insecurity, regional inequality, working class representation on screen and why class needs to be treated more as a structural issue within the industry.

They also reflect on their own experiences of class, money and masking, and explore how identity still plays a huge role in how people understand and talk about class.

Can we solve the class struggle in film and TV?

Read the reports discussed in the episode:

https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/240507/1/Johnson_UoL_WhatsOn_IndustryReport_Digital.pdf

https://www.thetvfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Lets-Talk-About-Class_v5.pdf

Produced by Ashley Dick and Jamie Mackinlay

Edited by Ashley Dick

Graphics by BS Design

Music by Blaine Thompson

Join us every Tuesday for more insights on the screen industry.

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