Two candidates to get career boosts

BBC Comedy have  launched a scheme to try to redress the lack of disabled people editing in scripted comedy shows.

The initiative will give two candidates who are either deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent the opportunity to accelerate their careers.

The placements consist of two shadowing opportunities: one entry level role for an edit assistant based in either London, Cardiff, Bristol or Manchester and one mid-level role for an assistant editor in London.

As well as the paid shadowing placements, the chosen candidates will receive mentoring, training and a £5,000 grant to help develop their careers further.

This is a pilot scheme, with the ambition to incorporate editors in the BBC Comedy Collective bursaries from next year.

Jon Petrie, director of comedy commissioning at the BBC says: ‘Our BBC Comedy Editors Access Scheme is just the start of a wider conversation about how we improve representation within the comedy editing community.’

Gareth Heal, whose credits include People Just Do Nothing, Peacock and Horrible Histories is the  mentor and ambassador for the scheme. He launched it today at the BBC Comedy Festival taking place in Cardiff.

He said: ‘I’ve been working in cutting rooms for nearly 30 years, and while society has made progress on inclusion my profession is way behind. 

‘As the parent of a teenager with a disability I see the progress that schools, sport and culture have made, and whilst there’s a long way to go, we're in a better place than we were. And then I look around myself at work - I can’t remember ever meeting anyone working in post-production with a disability. 

‘I can be working on a production where diversity is on the screen, but when I look round the room, at the people making these shows, the disparity is crystal clear. Change is long overdue. That change won’t come overnight but I know that Jon and his team are intent on shifting the dial.’

The initiative is backed by the Independent Post Company,  Fifty Fifty and Picture Shop.

Applications will be open on Monday 12 June at 12pm for four weeks, with applications closing on Monday 10 July at 12pm. Full details on how to apply can be found on the comedy commissioning website.

Published: 26 May 2023