Mental health struggles are increasing across the UK film and TV industry, according to the Film and TV Charity’s 2024 Looking Glass Survey.
With over 4,300 respondents to its 2024 survey, 35% described their mental health as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ – an increase of 46% from 24% in 2022.
Some 30% of respondents said they had experienced suicidal thoughts in the past 12 months.
The full report will be released in early 2025; the Film and TV Charity has released initial findings early, as it develops a set of pan-industry standards to improve the situation.
Sixty-three percent of respondents said their work has had a negative effect on their mental health; with 64% considering leaving the industry in the past 12 months due to concerns about mental health wellbeing.
Of those surveyed, 32% had already taken practical steps to leave, including applying for jobs elsewhere and meeting with recruitment consultants.
The Survey showed respondents who had worked on a production using the Charity’s Whole Picture Toolkit for mentally healthy productions gave better ratings and had higher awareness of good practices and support services available to them.
The Charity is now working to evolve the Toolkit into the pan-industry standards. Organisations that have already signed up to support the development of these standards include the BBC, Apple TV+, Disney+ UK, Paramount, Warner Bros Discovery, Fremantle, Channel 4, ScreenSkills and Bafta.
Development of the standards is being led by Anna Mischon and Andy Glynne, head of programme delivery and head of programme development respectively at Mentally Healthy Productions.
The Charity will also be working with the newly formed Action for Freelancers group in developing the standards.
“While the Charity continues to provide invaluable in-the-moment support for anyone experiencing poor mental health it’s evident that, collectively, the industry needs to grip the root causes far more robustly than it has so far managed to do,” said Marcus Ryder, CEO of the Film and TV Charity. “It is our hope that, by building on the success of the Whole Picture Toolkit, by working with stakeholders to develop pan-industry standards, and by providing the tools and resources to support their implementation, we can start to properly address one of the most pernicious issues our creative sector faces.”
Anyone working behind the scenes in film, TV and cinema can access immediate, free and confidential support through the Film and TV Support Line on 0800 054 0000 or via the Charity’s website.
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