More than 70 women writers accuse TV bosses of sexism
76 women writers signed an open letter addressed to TV bosses at ITV and the BBC
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A group of 76 women scriptwriters have signed an open letter, accusing TV bosses of blocking opportunities to work on shows. The letter, titled ‘Why won’t you work with us?’, was published via Broadcast. As reported by BBC News, the letter claims British TV is “overwhelmingly written by men”, leading to “confusion and anger” at the lack of female representation. British TV networks ITV and the BBC were among those criticised.
The letter said “Of the nine new [ITV] dramas listed, only one had a female lead writer". It went on to say “ITV has announced two further dramas for 2018. Both by male writers”. The letter further claimed that “less than 10% of new drama greenlit by ITV for this year will be written by women. Perhaps you can now understand our rage”.
‘Call the Midwife’, a drama series created by Heidi Thomas, was used as a positive example. The majority of the series’s episodes are written by Thomas, Harriet Warner, or Liz Lake.
Head over to Broadcast to read the full letter.