EXCLUSIVE: Britain’s major broadcasters and streamers are taking a stand on “clear and disturbing” disability access issues and have demanded change from studios and post-production facilities.

Deadline can exclusively reveal that the flagship cross-industry initiative to be launched at this week’s Edinburgh Television Festival will be the TV Access Project (TAP), a blueprint to rid the sector of appalling accessibility problems, spearheaded by BBC Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore.

The BBC, Channel 4, Britbox International, Disney+ UK, ITV, Paramount, Prime Video, Sky and UKTV are all signed up to TAP and the project has backing from influential producer trade body Pact and the Creative Diversity Network (CDN).

TAP began quietly in April when Moore, one of the most powerful people in British broadcasting, helped convene a pan-industry roundtable between disabled creatives, UK industry bosses and groups such as Pact, the CDN, Triple C DANC (Disabled Artists Networking Community) and DDPTV (Deaf and Disabled People in TV), to discuss accessibility and the state of facilities.

Those facilities had been slammed in a report entitled Everyone Forgot About the Toilets from Underlying Health Condition (UHC), the lobby group unveiled by last year’s MacTaggart lecturer Jack Thorne during his blistering broadside that chided the industry for “utterly and totally failing disabled people.” The damning report revealed a “clear and disturbing” lack of accessible honey wagons, trailers and toilets across the UK, coming at a time when the industry is desperately seeking more disabled talent and production is booming.

A series of roundtables have since focused on access on productions and access in studios and facilities and TAP has now published production guidelines for disability inclusion featuring the five ‘A’s (“Anticipate, Ask, Assess, Adjust, Advocate), issued a clear commitment to look at other issues over the coming year such as Access Co-ordinator roles and the retention of disabled talent, and published an open letter to studios and facilities, seen by Deadline and in full below.

Crucially, TAP said studios, post production houses and facilities that show they can meet the guidelines will be given priority when its nine-strong membership consider new UK commissions.

The letter proposes the creation of a “document of accessibility standards” along with a three-stage process: an Autumn roundtable with studios to forge a path to greater accessibility, work on a pan-industry access group, and a facility audit to “create a target timeline for addressing access requirements.”

“Collectively, we have been working hard to raise the representation of disabled people on screen and off, but over the past year we have come to realise that our progress has been stymied by a significant, yet resolvable, problem – physical accessibility,” reads the letter, which is signed by Moore, Channel 4 Chief Content Officer Ian Katz, Amazon Studios UK Head of Originals Dan Grabiner, BritBox International CEO Reemah Sakaan, ITV Managing Director of Media and Entertainment Kevin Lygo, Paramount UK Chief Content Officer Ben Frow, Sky UK Managing Director of Content Zai Bennett and UKTV CEO Marcus Arthur.

“We feel there is no other way to meet the historic imbalance of disabled people than through rapid and meaningful change.”

As she prepares to address the Edinburgh TV Festival, Moore said today is a “watershed moment for disabled talent and inclusion in our industry.”

“It’s exciting to be in a position where we can agree sensible measure and implement collective action for change,” she added.

Thorne made accessibility one of the cornerstones of his 2021 MacTaggart and used the speech to speak of terrifying incidents such as a disabled TV staffer having to “crawl up the steps and along the floor to get to her desk, while her electric wheelchair was outside getting soaked by the rain.”

TAP is seeking to make these incidents a thing of the past.

The letter in full

To Our Industry Friends, Colleagues and Partners,

We are writing to ask for your help.

Collectively, we have been working hard to raise the representation of disabled people on screen and off, but over the past year we have come to realise that our progress has been stymied by a significant, yet resolvable, problem – physical accessibility. How can the 1 in 5 of the population who are disabled hope to work on our productions, if the spaces in which they are made are not accessible to them?

The UK Equality Act 2010 makes discrimination unlawful and Building Regulations make disabled access a legal requirement, however, compliance with both can still result in spaces that are not accessible to all of those with the talent and motivation to be there.

Last year the lobbying group Underlying Health Condition, conducted a survey into the accessibility of facilities companies and studio spaces. Based on the responses they received, the problems are clear and disturbing. It revealed a UK TV industry which is largely inaccessible, denying disabled people the right to participate. Particularly disturbing was the lack of accessible toilets, all-round step free access, and crucially accessible fire regulations.

The UK TV and Film  industry does not have a standard that sets out our expectations for inclusive workspaces.  We believe that now it is time to make one.

Earlier this year a pan-industry roundtable took place between disabled creatives and UK industry heads of content creators, alongside leaders from PACT, the CDN (Creative Diversity Network), Triple C DANC (Disabled Artists Networking Community) and DDPTV (Deaf and Disabled People in TV), to discuss accessibility and the state of the facilities in which we work.

Creativity can take place in any space. Not all studios are purpose built, some post houses are based in old buildings, facility vehicles need to be flexible and capable of operating in any environment. But our industry is good at solving problems. We are aware some changes will take more time than others, and that there will be a costs attached.

So our vision is to come together as an industry and create a document of accessibility standards for our Studios and Facilities. A commitment that together we can create better and more flexible workplaces that include everybody who wants to work in this industry.

To do this we propose a three stage process:

1. Join us in a roundtable in the Autumn so we can agree on our path forward together, supported by industry bodies.
2. Continue to work with us on a pan-industry access group to accessibility standards
3. Collaborate to audit your facilities so we can create a target timeline for addressing access requirements

Once our journey and the timeframe are laid out, we would expect studios, post production houses and facilities companies to meet the industry standards we have developed together.

We know this change asks a lot and we share responsibility for it, but we feel there is no other way to meet the historic imbalance of disabled people than through rapid and meaningful change. Otherwise, another generation of talent will be shut out again. We ask you to join us in committing to a better future for all

Signed by:

Charlotte Moore, Chief Content Officer,  BBC

Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer, Ian Katz

Dan Grabiner, Head of UK Originals, Amazon Studios & Prime Video UK

Reemah Sakaan, CEO, Britbox International

Kevin Lygo, Director of Television, ITV

Ben Frow, Chief Content Officer, UK, Paramount

Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content, Sky UK and Ireland

Marcus Arthur, CEO, UKTV

Supported by:

UHC, DANC, DDPTV, CDN, PACT