The UK film and television industry is failing working-class talent, according to filmmaker and freelance journalist Amber Haque, who has called out class inequality as the “elephant in the room”.
Haque, the filmmaker behind the BBC’s investigation into the killing of Yousef Makki and wider issue of knife crime in Manchester, spoke about the barriers facing working-class creatives during the latest This Is MediaCity podcast episode.
“The final taboo of diversity, which is class, is a very forgotten aspect of the conversation on diversity and inclusion,” she said, referencing screenwriter James Graham’s MacTaggart lecture at Edinburgh TV Festival in 2024. During his lecture, he cited figures that suggest around 8% of people currently working in television come from a working-class background.
“I couldn’t have agreed more,” Haque added.
If those from working-class backgrounds can’t “pay bills”, grow up in a community or culture where film and TV isn’t considered a viable career pathway and do not see themselves reflected on TV, she questioned how easy it is for them to even get started in the industry.
READ MORE: BRIT Awards: Glitz, glamour and the class divide in the UK music scene
READ MORE: “There were no rules. There were also weapons” Tony Bellew podcast on football hooliganism
Haque is one of 24 industry leaders in a newly formed class and social equality working group, set up by the TV Foundation, the charitable arm of the Edinburgh TV Festival. Part of the foundation’s new Impact Unit, the initiative aims to push for tangible solutions to class inequality in the industry ahead of this summer’s festival.
“There’s a real problem,” Haque said. “We don’t even have data on how many working class people work in film and TV.”
While the new working group is taking steps to measure class representation, Haque also warned that regionality remains a key issue with most of the working group, and much of the industry, still concentrated in London.
For those wanting to break into the industry, it’s just another hurdle to cut through.
“I have a mentee from Bradford who wants to break into the industry, who doesn’t live near a major hub where things are going on. It’s going to be extremely unaffordable for her to move to London. There are no major indies around her, in her sector. What advice can I offer her to break into this industry?”
She also raised concerns about a lack of support for mid-career professionals, arguing that while the industry invests in talent schemes, there is little follow-through.
And for those without financial backing from family, a partner, or other sources, survival in the industry becomes near impossible.
“If you don’t have a mum or dad to help you through a period when you’re out of work, or a partner to support you, what do you do? That’s why people are leaving in droves. And you can’t blame them.”
