BBC Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice - Progress Report 2020/21

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BBC Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice - Progress Report 2020/21
BBC Diversity
Commissioning
Code of Practice
Progress Report 2020/21
BBC Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice - Progress Report 2020/21
Welcome to the
BBC Diversity
Commissioning
Code of Practice
Report 2020/21
                                                                        BBC One, I May Destroy You: Various Artists.
                                                                        Paapa Essiedu nominated BAFTA Best Actor,
                                                                        Michaela Coel winner BAFTA Director, Writer
                                                                        and Actress and Weruche Opia nominated BAFTA
                                                                        Best Supporting Actress

                                                   Foreword              Introduction              Overview
                                                   p3                    p4                        p5

                                                   1                     2                         3
                                                   Leading by example    Authentic portrayal       Casting should
                                                   p6                    p13                       be open and fair
                                                                                                   p19

Our aim is to focus on being                       4                     5
more rather than less BBC.                         A diverse             Measurement
                                                   workforce makes       p26
More distinctive. More committed                   for better content
                                                   p23
to our unique mission.

        BBC Diversity Commissioning
        Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
BBC Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice - Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example       Section 2: Authentic portrayal     Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce   Measurement
                                                                                                            and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                               3
Foreword

T
        he BBC is here to provide great value to      The commitment to diversity and inclusion has
        all of our audiences. We create bold and      never been stronger. At the very top of the
        distinctive content that seeks to reflect a   organisation the message is clear: the ambition is
        diverse range of voices from local            to create an organisation which reflects more
communities and appeal to both UK and global          accurately the society we serve.
audiences.
                                                      We’re putting inclusion and accessibility at the
The BBC continues to make bold creative choices       heart of everything that we do; it’s not just about
which benefit and reflect all 4 Nations of the UK;    the future of the BBC, it’s about the impact we
launching a series of daily educational               make in the communities of the audiences we
programmes that allowed children to study whilst      serve across the UK and in the creative industry at
schools were closed, Children in Need match-          large. This report demonstrates how we have
funded the £10 million pledge made by Stormzy to      made progress towards that ambition this year.
tackle racial inequality in the UK and, more
                                                      Miranda Wayland
recently, the BBC’s biggest transformation plan in
                                                      Head of Creative Diversity
decades, which will move power and decision-
making across the UK, putting portrayal and
representation at the heart of our offer.
                                                                                                                                       We know that having diverse creative talent,
                                                                                                                                       from a wide range of backgrounds, brings fresh

£112m
                                                                                                                                       perspectives, unique insights, expertise and
                                                                                                                                       experience. This talent is also key to our creative
                                                                                                                                       innovation and enables us to continue making
                                                                                                                                       world class content that has mass appeal.

                                                                                                                                                                 Creative Diversity investment

                BBC Diversity Commissioning
                Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
BBC Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice - Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                         Section 1: Leading by example   Section 2: Authentic portrayal      Section 3: Casting should be open    Section 4: A diverse workforce   Measurement
                                                                                                          and fair                             makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                              4
Introduction

Diversity and inclusion is
                                                                             N
                                                                                          ow in its third year the BBC’s Diversity
                                                                                          Commissioning Code of Practice sets

a creative imperative at the
                                                                                          the foundation for our relationships
                                                                                          with suppliers – what we commit to and
                                                                              what we expect from those we work with. This
BBC; it ensures we remain                                                     ensures our content accurately represents and
                                                                              authentically portrays the diverse communities of
                                                                                                                                        BBC Three, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK:

relevant to all.
                                                                                                                                        World of Wonder
                                                                              the whole of the UK. Full details of the Diversity
                                                                              Commissioning Code of Practice can be obtained
                                                                              here. The Code continues to provide us with an
                                                                              opportunity to analyse our effectiveness and
                                                                              impact. We are able to assess progress and
                                                                              identify any key areas for improvement. This
                                                                              approach has enabled us to be bolder and more
                                                                              ambitious in achieving greater representation
                                                                              across all of our output and take active steps
                                                                              towards meaningful change.

                                                                                BBC Three, Famalam:
                                                                              BBC Studios, RTS Award
                                                                              for Female Performance
                                                                                     In A Comedy for
                                                                                   Gbemisola Ikumelo

BBC One, Three Families: Studio Lambert

                BBC Diversity Commissioning
                Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
BBC Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice - Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example          Section 2: Authentic portrayal   Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce     Measurement
                                                                                                             and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   5
Overview

This report sets out our achievements
and learnings during 2020/21, and
how we have continued to drive the
Diversity & Inclusion agenda during
an unprecedented pandemic.

A year in which productions were                                     BBC Three, Eating with my Ex:
massively disrupted, talent were                                     Shotglass Media

unable to work, and safety
considerations impacted who could be
on set and where people could travel.
                                                                                                                                                         BBC Two, Manctopia: Billion Pound Property Boom: Minnow Films
Throughout this report, we will outline how the       The Code sets out commitments around
BBC complies with the Code, and highlight             five principles:
illustrative examples and case studies that
evidence the breadth of approach our
commissioning teams, and our suppliers, have
taken to implement the principles it contains.        1. Lead by example
More detail on how we work can be found on the
BBC’s Commissioning website. Previous reports
                                                      2. Portrayal should
can be found at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/                  be authentic
creativediversity/reports.

A status summary against all Code commitments
                                                      3. Casting should be
can be found on p30.                                     open and fair
                                                      4. Diverse workforce makes
                                                         for better content
                                                      5. Measurement

                BBC Diversity Commissioning
                Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
BBC Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice - Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example   Section 2: Authentic portrayal   Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce       Measurement
                                                                                                     and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                   6
Section 1:

Leading by example

 £100m £12m
                                                                                                                                                                     BBC, The Grand Party Hotel:
                                                                                                                                                                     Spun Gold TV

 TV commissioning spend                          Radio commissioning spend
                                                                                                              Last year the BBC announced the biggest Creative
                                                                                                              Diversity investment in the industry.

                                                                                                              The investment is designed to accelerate the pace of
                                                                                                              change to increase diversity and inclusion both
                                                                                                              on-screen, on-air and within production teams. We
                                                                                                              have put measures in place internally to drive this
                                                                                                              commitment and communicated with suppliers
                                                                                                              about what it means, and how they can contribute.

                                                                                                              We have hardwired diversity into our leadership
                                                                                                              objectives and our commissioning teams.

                                                                                                                        See how we are measuring our progress
               BBC Diversity Commissioning
               Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21                                                     BBC Radio 1, Dev Griffin
BBC Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice - Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                         Section 1: Leading by example        Section 2: Authentic portrayal           Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce       Measurement
                                                                                                                    and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                           7
Leading by example continued

In 20/21 the BBC introduced diversity & inclusion       The panels include representatives from each               “If you are a leader at the BBC
as one of the key indicators of its Senior              genre or network and across the groups they
Leadership index – meaning internal performance         represent the following backgrounds and                     and looking to secure a new
of content divisions and commissioning teams            experience:                                                 role we will look at your overall
includes progress against these objectives.
                                                        – Lower socio-economic background                           team engagement scores; how
In addition it set new internal diversity targets for   – Those living with a disability                            you improved the diversity of
all its teams to meet within 5 years– which set a
bar for the industry and demonstrates our own
                                                        – Black, Asian & Minority ethnic backgrounds                your team; and how you
                                                                                                                                                                             Trevor Nelson, BBC Radio 1
commitment to change. These targets are higher                                                                      created an environment where                             Xtra presenter: BBC
than we are asking of our suppliers – and mean the                                                                  we treat everyone fairly and
decision makers of the future will be more
representative of the audiences they serve.             BBC Diversity Targets                                       equally, no exceptions.”
This demonstrates we are looking at our own
commissioning workforce, processes, decision-
making and culture to deliver our objectives, as
                                                        50
                                                        Female
                                                                   %
                                                                                   20          %
                                                                                   Black, Asian and
                                                                                                                   Tim Davie, Director-General

                                                                                                                   “Now is the time that diversity
well as working with others to support that.                                       Minority Ethnic
                                                                                                                     needs to be hardwired into the

                                                        12%
Our TV Assistant Commissioner development
                                                                                                                     corporation, including the
programme is now in its third year, and has
enabled us to attract and nurture talent from                                                                        senior commissioning team.”
under-represented backgrounds within the BBC’s          Disabled
                                                                                                                      BC Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore,
                                                                                                                     B
commissioning teams. We now have strong
                                                                                                                     Edinburgh TV Festival
representation across our genres – with more work
to do at the senior level over time. All 6 ACs in our
2019-21 intake are still working in commissioning.

In 20/21 we introduced Creative Diversity &
Inclusion Panels within our content areas to
support the business to achieve our Diversity
commitments authentically and to provide insight
as to what will have most impact. The panels bring
their lived experience to help shape and inform
business and commissioning discussions inform
best practice and champion changes to our culture
from the inside.

                                                                                                            BBC One, Doctor Who: BBC Studios
                                                                                                            Part of: BBC Drama Series & Serials
                                                                                                                      production trainee scheme
                BBC Diversity Commissioning
                Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
BBC Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice - Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example        Section 2: Authentic portrayal       Section 3: Casting should be open    Section 4: A diverse workforce       Measurement
                                                                                                               and fair                             makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                             8
Leading by example continued

                                                           £112m Criteria
Our £112m Commissioning
Commitment                                                 1. Diverse stories and portrayal on-screen            3. Diverse company leadership

This financial commitment across TV and Radio               Representing all audiences across the UK.            Senior roles involved in shaping creative or
gives clear commissioning focus to ensure we are           Includes all protected characteristics and            operational strategy within the production
looking for, developing and choosing programmes            social class.                                         company. The BBC is committed to ensuring
that represent all audiences across the UK.                                                                      our impact is effective and brings about
                                                           To be considered diverse content a
                                                                                                                 meaningful change.
Monitoring our progress against this ensures we            programme must comply with at least two                                                                       BBC One, Katie Price Harvey & Me:
are holding ourselves to account to deliver change,        of the following on-screen measures                   To qualify for criteria 2 and 3, at least two           Minnow Films

and are transparent with the sector about how we                                                                 individuals in senior decision-making roles
                                                           a. Landmark portrayal
are doing that. The investment applies to content                                                                must come from one of the following under-
which plays out between April 21 and March 2024.           b. Incidental and integrated portrayal                represented groups:
We will report progress against transmission along         c. Diverse on-screen talent                           •   Those from black, Asian and minority
with other targets, but also track developments                                                                      ethnic (BAME) backgrounds
and commissioning decisions earlier in the creative        2. Diverse production leadership
pipeline.                                                                                                        •   Those with lived experience of a disability
                                                           Senior off-screen decision-makers involved in
In 2020/21 we developed the definitions for the            shaping and making the programme.                     •   Those from lower-income backgrounds – to
content that would count towards the commitment,                                                                     achieve socio-economic diversity (SED)
                                                           We have identified key roles for both scripted
working with the Creative Diversity & Inclusion            and unscripted where we would like to see             Further definitions of each criteria and
Panels.                                                    greater representation.                               measure can be found on the BBC’s
Once the definitions were in draft form we                                                                       Commissioning & Creative Diversity websites.
consulted the Lenny Henry Centre for Media
Diversity at Birmingham City University, along
with PACT, Ofcom, Unions, diverse-led indies &
talent partners to strengthen them further, and
communicated them to the sector in briefings led
by Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s Chief Content
                                                      550
                                                      Producers
                                                                                   70
                                                                                   Producers
Officer with senior Commissioning leaders from        TV Diversity Definitions     Radio Diversity
TV and Radio.                                         Briefing                     Definitions Briefing

                                                                                                   BBC Three, In My Skin:
                BBC Diversity Commissioning
                Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21                                        Expectation Entertainment
BBC Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice - Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                          Section 1: Leading by example         Section 2: Authentic portrayal       Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce       Measurement
                                                                                                                  and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           9
Leading by example continued

                                                                                                                                                                 BBC Two, Climate Change on
                                                                                                                                                                 the Frontline, Ade Adepitan,
                                                                                                                                                                 BBC Studios.

                                                                                                                                                                             	Case study:
Our ask of producers                                     In Radio, where production teams are typically
                                                         smaller and with less market movement, we hope
                                                                                                                 Before the programme is greenlit the
                                                                                                                 commissioner and producer identify gaps and
                                                                                                                                                                             	Scotland: Rad TV trainee
To support the need to improve representation            to achieve 20% diverse representation for               opportunities in the production plan and agree                programme
off-screen in TV and Radio we have introduced            independent suppliers with 10 or more staff, to be      appropriate interventions. These are bespoke to
new targets for producers working with us to             reviewed in April 2024.                                 each production – and are captured on the                   As part of our partnership with the
accelerate progress.                                                                                             commissioning specification – with more detail on           training provider TRC in Glasgow, the
                                                         Our dedicated Creative Diversity team are                                                                           BBC co-funds the rad programme to
                                                                                                                 the greenlight documentation as necessary. The
For all new commissions from April 2021 we are           available to support producers as to how they can                                                                   support diversity at entry level across the
                                                                                                                 production lead who signs the commissioning
asking companies to commit to at least 20% of            achieve this target, and we have worked with                                                                        independent sector.
                                                                                                                 specification is accountable for delivery. Examples
their production team being from the following           partners to provide resources to help them
                                                                                                                 of outcomes of these conversations include:                 The programme involves placing 12
under-represented groups:                                directly.
                                                                                                                 Chloe created opportunities for two emerging                people from under-represented
– Those from black, Asian and minority ethnic
  (BAME) backgrounds
                                                         Hardwiring diversity                                    directors to work across both blocks and gain               backgrounds with Scottish indies
                                                                                                                                                                             including Firecracker Films, Raise the
                                                                                                                 a credit.
– Those with lived experience of a disability            within commissioning                                                                                                Roof Productions, Hopscotch Films, IWC,
                                                                                                                 The A Word supported an emerging director to step           Mentorn, Two Rivers, BBC Studios,. Hello
– Those from lower-income backgrounds – to               In 20/21, we updated our reporting and business
                                                                                                                 up and deliver one episode plus 6 funded trainees.          Halo and Red Sky.
  achieve socio-economic diversity (SED)                 systems to be able to monitor and report against
We ask that the 20% is made up of at least two of        our new £112m commissioning commitment.                 Glow Up supported 2 people to step up into their            Each trainee gets a fully paid eight-month
these three under-represented groups.                    Although a voluntary target, this follows the same      first time SP roles.                                        placement with one of the companies,
                                                         robust process and governance as our regulatory                                                                     plus training and support provided by
The WHOLE production team from runner to                                                                         Sparks: Teen Monologue; A theatre director with
                                                         commitments.                                                                                                        TRC. Applications increased by 41% since
executive producer, craft roles and post production                                                              neurodiversity mentored by experienced director
                                                                                                                                                                             2019, with a 59% boost from black, Asian
are included in the 20%. We encourage producers          We have also built in a leadership self-                to gain first TV credit enabling a permanent move
                                                                                                                                                                             and minority ethnic applicants and 58%
to build these plans into their pitch from the start,    declaration form to our Pitch registration process      into the industry.
                                                                                                                                                                             from those with a disability.
and discuss how they plan to achieve it as part of       to be able to identify companies who meet our
                                                                                                                 Angels of the North promoted an Assistant
the commissioning conversation, and ask them to          diverse-led criteria. This has been sent to all                                                                     This years intake were recruited into the
                                                                                                                 Producer from Newcastle to be a Director on
report progress during production                        existing suppliers as a one off exercise to inform                                                                  following roles:
                                                                                                                 series 3.
                                                         our reporting and monitoring.
                                                                                                                                                                             •   Researcher
                                                                                                                 We updated our commissioning specifications this
                                                         As in previous reports, our Commissioners
                                                                                                                 year to include our requirement for companies to            •   Edit Assistant
                                                         continued to engage in active conversations about
                                                                                                                 achieve 20% diversity in their production teams, as
                                                         representation, portrayal and diversity, both on-                                                                   •   Production Assistant
                                                                                                                 well as strengthen our requirements around
                                                         and off-air, as part of defining the commissioning
                                                                                                                 Diamond compliance. We also updated our                     The programme is funded by Screen
                                                         specification.
                                                                                                                 progress report templates to include updates on             Scotland, BBC Nations, BBC Scotland and
                                                                                                                 these requirements ahead of payment stages                  Channel 4, and helps Scottish companies
                                                                                                                 during production.                                          to fulfil their Code of Practice
                                                                                                                                                                             commitments.
                                                        BBC Two, Being Frank: The Frank Gardner Story: Curious Films Ltd

                 BBC Diversity Commissioning
                 Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
BBC Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice - Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                         Section 1: Leading by example       Section 2: Authentic portrayal        Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce       Measurement
                                                                                                                and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                        10
Leading by example continued

                                                                                                                  	Case study:
50:50 The Equality Project
                                                       Supporting the sector                                        Radio Partnerships
The Equality Project began as a grassroots
                                                       The Code outlines our commitment to offer advice
initiative in the BBC’s newsroom in 2017.                                                                         BBC Radio This is the third year that BBC
                                                       and guidance where possible to production
                                                       companies that experience greater challenges due           Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 have partnered
It now involves 670 BBC teams and more than 100
                                                       to the nature of the programme, geographical               with the Multitrack scheme organised by
partner organisations in 26 countries – all working
                                                       location and/or access.                                    independent production companies, which
towards one goal: equal representation of women                                                                                                                          Lockdown Learning, Bitesize
                                                                                                                  provides fellowships for new and diverse
and men in content.                                                                                                                                                      Daily Primary: BBC Education
                                                       In 2020, we strengthened our Creative Diversity            talent in radio production.
In February 2021, BBC Audiences conducted a            team by appointing three new roles across TV to
                                                       bring expertise, contacts and insights to support          Radio 4 has committed to taking three
survey of 2,000 BBC Online users, including BBC
                                                       commissioners, suppliers and diverse talent.               28-minute documentaries from Multitrack
Online, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds. Results
                                                       During the first six months, they engaged and              Fellows in 2021/22. Radio 3 will commission
showed that:
                                                       supported more than 150 production companies.              editions from Multitrack Fellows of its
– 62% noticed more women in content                                                                               high-profile strand, The Essay.
– 44% of 16 to 34 years olds enjoy content more        We introduced tailored audience masterclasses to
                                                       give insight and context to our commitments and            Radio 3 is also working in partnership with
– 58% of women aged 16 to 34 consume more              content – each one focused on a specific under-            the Arts and Humanities Research Council
  content                                              represented audience group (BAME, Socio-                   (AHRC) on a scheme to shine a light on
The responses demonstrate the increasing value         economic & disability). These were well attended,          marginalised composers and musical genres.
of fair representation in BBC output as a result of    led by a senior commissioner, and all included a           Seven music researchers will uncover the
our action.                                            Q and A.                                                   stories of seven composers who have been
                                                                                                                  historically overlooked.
In October, the BBC announced that 50:50
monitoring would be extended to include disability                                                                The Scheme aims to reveal more about the
and/or ethnicity representation. Close to 220                                                                     lives and work of composers who have not had
teams have now committed to doing this. Of those                                                                  the recognition their work deserves. It also
who have been consistently collecting data, 51%                                                                   seeks to expand the breadth of what is
have seen an improvement in representation.                                                                       acknowledged as belonging to the classical
The BBC will publish more data in 2022.                                                                           music canon.

670
teams signed to 50/50
                           62%
                           online users noticed
                                                       3
                                                       Diversity Masterclasses
                                                                                   890
                                                                                   producers attended
                           more women in content

                                                                                      CBBC, My Mum Tracy Beaker:
                                                                                 BBC Children’s In-house Production

                BBC Diversity Commissioning
                Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example       Section 2: Authentic portrayal       Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce     Measurement
                                                                                                                and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   11
 Leading by example continued

                             Diversity funds                                        Small Indie Fund
                                                                                                                                                                                                BBC Two, Statue
                             All our TV and Radio Commissioning teams have
                             funds to support talent development beyond what
                                                                                    Our £1 million Small Indie Fund supports talented
                                                                                    small producers who can deliver to our strategy
                                                                                                                                            Working in Partnership                              Wars: One Summer
                                                                                                                                                                                                in Bristol: Uplands
                             can be achieved within usual production budgets.       and have the potential to grow.                         The BBC has continued to work with our key          Television supported
                                                                                                                                            sector partners to further support and drive        by small indie fund.
                             Now in its fifth year TV’s £2 million Diversity Fund   In 20/21 a quarter of the companies on our small
                                                                                                                                            progress towards our commitments in the Code.
                             is ringfenced investment targeting both on- and        indie fund were diverse-led and in total they
                             off-screen talent, to help drive greater               received more than £500k of funding to support          During the first peak of the pandemic and weeks
                             representation across BBC productions and              their growth.                                           before the tragic death of George Floyd, the BBC
                             support sustainable access to diverse talent across                                                            with Channel 4, ITV and BFI sponsored a series of
                                                                                    Two thirds of the companies on the fund were
                             the wider industry. In 2020/21 we prioritised the                                                              free live career talks and Q&As for the TV
                                                                                    based in the Nations and Regions.
                             development of off-screen talent in line with our                                                              Collective which provided a platform to unpick
                             Diamond returns,. Nearly 90% of the fund was           Each company received a commissioning mentor,           some of the challenges faced by many black, Asian
                             invested in off-screen interventions – significantly   targeted development opportunities and those            and minority ethnic workers in the industry. This
                             improving diverse representation and career            who received strategic support- had a bespoke           has informed our response and actions.
                             progression behind the camera. A third of the fund     investment package tailored to their needs.
                             was spent in Factual, including our disability
                                                                                    Commissions which have resulted from this
                             scheme Elevate which is working with 36 disabled
                                                                                    support include: Beauty and the Bleach from
                             talent to support career opportunities via
                             placements on BBC productions. In total we
                                                                                    Cardiff Productions and Statue Wars, from               “The BBC levelled up its support
                                                                                    Uplands, which followed Marvin Rees the Mayor of
                             supported more than 160 productions.                                                                             and became one of our key
                                                                                    Bristol through a turbulent year in the city. Both
                             A summary of projects funded by the TV Diversity       commissions were for BBC Two.                             allies even before the tragic
                             fund can be found in the BBC’s Commissioning
                                                                                    The diverse-led companies we supported also
                                                                                                                                              events of George Floyd. This
                             Supply report – and funded projects are contained
                             throughout this report across all chapters.
                                                                                    received more than £60k from the TV Diversity             helped us to continue
BBC One, Ghosts:
                                                                                    Fund to support talent development from                   to spotlight talent and create
                                                                                    under-represented groups and over £160k was
Monumental Television
                                                                                    invested in ideas development (over and above
                                                                                                                                              paid opportunities.”
                                                                                    either of the funds).
                                                                                                                                            Simone Pennant MBE, Founder,

                                                                                    £2m                         £500k
                                                                                                                                            The TV Collective

                                                                                    TV Diversity Fund           Radio Diversity Fund

                                                                                    £300k 160
                                                                                    Children’s Diversity Fund   productions supported
                                                                                                                by TV Diversity Fund

                  BBC Diversity Commissioning
                  Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example          Section 2: Authentic portrayal       Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce      Measurement
                                                                                                                 and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12
Leading by example continued

                                                               Cbeebies, JoJo and Gran Gran:
                                                           BBC Children’s in-house Production

In 2020/21 BBC funding also contributed to the        BBC Radio 1Xtra has also signed up to the Equality        “I grew up on a council estate in                      “The Partnership has also
following                                             in Audio Pact which aligns to the core principles
                                                      of the Code of Practice.                                   Yorkshire. This industry                                 allowed us to widen access
NFTS: Our new Pan BBC partnership includes
                                                                                                                 always seemed set aside for                              by offering BSL interpreters
funding for 20 diverse scholars to enable diverse     Women in Film & TV: The BBC has contributed
students from low-income backgrounds to benefit       financially to WFTV’s Four Nation’s Mentoring              those privileged enough to                               for the deaf community.”
from the internationally renowned teaching at the     Scheme – a scheme with a focus on leadership               afford it or with contacts.                              Seetha Kumar, CEO Screenskills
                                                      skills for mid-career women from across the
school and to strengthen the off-screen diversity
                                                                                                                 But when I gained a BBC
pipeline available to the sector.                     industry. We also annually  sponsor
                                                                              [Image       the ‘BBC News
                                                                                     caption]
                                                      and Factual Award’, at the annual awards                   scholarship, I knew first hand
Screenskills: Through its partnership the BBC
has contributed to a broad range of mental health
                                                      ceremony in December. This year due to the                 that the industry had shifted.
                                                      cancellation of the awards that contribution is
and diversity and inclusion sessions run by the                                                                  Without the scholarship, I
                                                      sponsoring the WFTV online events programme
training charity.
                                                      2021.                                                      would never be able to pay my
These include BBC’s Creative Diversity
Compliance, Equality and Diversity Essentials;
Mental Fitness for TV; Suicide Awareness and
                                                                                                                 fees and I have an amazing
                                                                                                                 BBC mentor Tom Lazenby                                 870+ £10m
                                                                                                                                                                        Independent producers     CIN pledge to support
Prevention; Understanding Neurodiversity;                                                                        (Head of Development, BBC                              attended PACT diversity   young black talent
Unconscious Bias, Working with Disabled Talent                                                                   Drama Commissioning) who                               workshops
and Understanding White Privilege.                    “I have received a lot of support                         has helped me incredibly with
PACT: The BBC co-funds a Pact diversity adviser
to provide independent production companies
                                                       from many great people at the
                                                       BBC who have become part of
                                                                                                                 networking and finding work
                                                                                                                 opportunities.”
                                                                                                                                                                        20
                                                                                                                                                                        Diverse BBS
                                                                                                                                                                                                  £400k
                                                                                                                                                                                                  BBC Investment in
with specialised support to deliver on diversity       my network and are willing to                                                                                    Scholars NFTS             Screenskills training
and inclusion goals, including broadcaster targets.
                                                       help me progress. I received a                           Summer Grieve Knight, Script Development
This year the Pact Diversity project held 19                                                                    Student, NFTS
workshops and seminars which were designed
                                                       brilliant mentor, Rachel
to support the BBC’s code of practice and              Wright, who is the Head of
commitments. delivered to more than 870                Production at BBC Sport and
suppliers online. Working together we developed
a robust ‘Equal Opportunities Monitoring’ form
                                                       she has offered me ongoing
that gives production companies an opportunity         mentorship as well as an
to assess their progress.                              opportunity to work at the
Children in Need: A BBC Radio 1Xtra partnered          Tokyo 2021 Olympics!”
with Children in Need to pledge £10 million to
fund programmes to support young black talent         Aaliyah Yaqub: Production Management
to achieve their full potential.                      Student, NFTS

                                                                                                                      Anthony: BAFTA Best
                                                                                                             Supporting Actress Rakie Ayola
                BBC Diversity Commissioning
                Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example      Section 2: Authentic portrayal   Section 3: Casting should be open    Section 4: A diverse workforce       Measurement
                                                                                                        and fair                             makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                        13
Section 2:

Authentic portrayal

 200                    +
                                                          65
                                                                                                                                                       BBC Two, Live At The Apollo, Access All Areas:
                                                                                                                                                       Open Mike Productions

 New Writing talent                                       Awards nominations for
                                                          diverse BBC talent
                                                                                                                  Our audiences want to see their lives,
                                                                                                                  communities and experiences authentically
                                                                                                                  portrayed across our programmes. BBC
                                                                                                                  commissioning delivers a rich and thought-
                                                                                                                  provoking mix of content with appeal to
                                                                                                                  everyone, ensuring that the UK’s diverse
                                                                                                                  communities and under-represented groups
                                                                                                                  accurately see themselves portrayed on-screen,
                                                                                                                  on-air and online. We do this by discovering,
                                                                                                                  developing and showcasing voices from a broad
                                                                                                                  range of backgrounds, locations and beliefs.

                                                                                                                             See how we are measuring our progress

                                                                                                               BBC Four, African Renaissance: Clear Story Limited
               BBC Diversity Commissioning
               Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example         Section 2: Authentic portrayal        Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce        Measurement
                                                                                                                 and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          14
Authentic portrayal continued

                                                                                            Scotland Women’s
                                                                                        national football team

                                                                                                                                                                         	Case study:
Investing in diverse                                  Strictly Come Dancing in 2020 featured one of the
                                                      most diverse line-ups in its history – featuring
                                                                                                                 Authenticity on-air                                       BBC ALBA: 360
on-screen portrayal                                   celebrities including Radio One DJ Clara Amfo,             Even within our demographically targeted audio
                                                      Presenter Ranvir Singh, Invictus Games medallist           content authenticity isn’t overlooked and we            •   100% female guests
The BBC actively seeks new on-screen talent,
                                                      JJ Chalmers, and Olympic boxer Nicola Adams                ensure our audiences feel they are being                •   40 –50% female crew
invests in the future pipeline, and supports
                                                      who made history choosing to dance in a same               reflected throughout all of our content.
interventions to improve authenticity and                                                                                                                                •   38% of studio guests openly LGBT
                                                      sex couple for the first time.
representation.                                                                                                  Where It Begins aimed to provide three, eight
                                                      To ensure casting is authentic as possible we have         week placements on Radio 1Xtra, this was                •   6% of feature guests are known to be
In 20/21 we showcased a number of new and                                                                                                                                    disabled
                                                      supported interventions from our suppliers:                challenging due to COVID but we were able to
established diverse on-screen talent who have
                                                      For example, both Lime Pictures and ITV Studios            take on four freelancers, intermittently between        •   4% of feature guests are Black, Asian
gone on to win nominations or awards from peers
                                                      hired diverse casting producers for their                  June-November to help support the team on                   Minority Ethnic (this figure reflects well
in the industry. Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You
                                                      programme There’s Something About Manchester               outreach projects.                                          against the 2–3%
introduced Paapa Essiedu as Kwame and Weruche
                                                      and University Challenge to ensure we had greater
Opia as struggling actor Terry, nominated for                                                                    Two of the freelancers came via the Where It            The show, which is dedicated to women in
                                                      and more authentic representation on screen. In
BAFTA Best Actor and winning Best Supporting                                                                     Begins Intern Scheme, one freelancer was new            sport, attempts to redress the deficit of
                                                      both cases the teams created more diverse
Actress respectively.                                                                                            talent to the BBC and all of were from a diverse        women’s representation in sports media and
                                                      content on social media to appeal to a broad
                                                                                                                 background.                                             value women for their various contributions
At the same ceremony Malachi Kirby – won Best         range of backgrounds and communities.
Supporting Actor for his role in Steve McQueen’s                                                                 BBC Sounds Lab ran an initiative to increase            to, and achievements in, sport and physical
                                                      Mac TV who produced BBC ALBA’s Trusadh                                                                             activity. Studio guests and programme
Small Axe anthology and Rakie Ayola won Best                                                                     diverse production companies pitching into their
                                                      Sgeulachdan a’ Ghlasaidh/ Life in Lockdown                                                                         features encompass testimony from a variety
Supporting Actress for her role as a griveing                                                                    commissioning round to work on a special
                                                      changed their production techniques to improve                                                                     of backgrounds and perspectives and the
Mother in the moving single Drama Anthony. All of                                                                podcast that tells the story of a young black
                                                      authentic representation. Across six programmes                                                                    platform provides women with an
these performances were recognised for both                                                                      tennis player, Ora Washington. The commission
                                                      35 new faces made prominent contributions with                                                                     opportunity to reflect themselves and
their quality and authenticity.                                                                                  was awarded to Stance Media, a diverse
                                                      user-generated content filmed on their mobile                                                                      their sport in a positive light.
                                                                                                                 production company, which is new to the BBC.
At the RTS this year Robert Softly Gale was           phones giving audiences insight into The
nominated in the breakthrough category for his        contributors lives and emotions.
performance in Crip Tales, and Young Filly was
nominated for entertainment performance for
BBC Three’s Hot Property. With Marian Mohamed
picking up best new factual emerging talent award
at BAFTA craft for her direction of BBC Three’s
Digga D documentary.

                                                                                          BBC One, Small Axe: Turbine Studios

                                                                     Small Axe: BAFTA Best Supporting Actor for Malachi Kirby
                BBC Diversity Commissioning
                Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example        Section 2: Authentic portrayal     Section 3: Casting should be open    Section 4: A diverse workforce      Measurement
                                                                                                             and fair                             makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     15
Authentic portrayal continued

                                                                                                                                                                         	Case study:
Authentic Writing talent                              current Writers’ Access Group and Annalisa
                                                      Dinnella and Tom Wentworth attended many of                                                                        	Children’s New Voices
We are committed to seek out and develop writers      the sessions for our inaugural group.                                                                                programme 2020
from a wide variety of backgrounds and lived
                                                      We also run Voices schemes in six different                                                                        New Voices, a partnership between BBC
experiences who can tell compelling authentic
                                                      locations across the UK to ensure we are                                                                           Writersroom, BBC Children’s In-House
stories which our audiences can we relate to.
                                                      developing authentic stories from all 4 Nations.                                                                   Productions and Indie suppliers, is an
In partnership with production companies, the         Five of these groups are fixed, but others are                                                                     immersive development programme that
BBC Writersroom and BBC Comedy run more than          peripatetic enabling us to dynamically work in                                                                     gives writers from under-represented
20 schemes and bursaries – developing more            areas which have traditionally been hard to reach                                                                  groups the training and tools to kick-start
than 200 writers with face-to-face development,       by standard methods.                                                                                               a long-term writing career within the
as well as engaging with many hundreds more

                                                                                                                                         196
                                                      BBC Writersroom has also supported other BBC                                                                       Children’s industry.
through online engagement and public outreach.
                                                      departments’ talent initiatives: for example, Find                                                                 The programme launched in November
A third of the scheme writers come from black,
                                                      Me Funny with BBC Cymru Wales, The Dumping                                                                         2020 with a two-day virtual festival and
Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and the                                                                                            writers from diverse
                                                      Ground Writers’ Shadow Scheme with CBBC and                                                                        welcomed applicants from under
Writers Access Group gives talented disabled                                                                                             backgrounds engaged
                                                      the Alfred Bradley Bursary Award with Radio                                                                        represented ethnic backgrounds, writers
writers the chance to expand their writing skills                                                                                        through New Voices 2020
                                                      Drama North. In addition, we ran a project at the                                                                  with a disability and those from lower
and to be offered opportunities in TV and radio at

                                                                                                                                         17
                                                      beginning of lockdown called ‘Interconnected’– an                                                                  socio-economic backgrounds. Over 130
the BBC.
                                                      open call out which received nearly 7,000 script                                                                   writers heard from industry experts on
Amongst many other projects, we have recently         returns. Eight of these were developed into short                                                                  topics such as the development process
announced five new writers who will be writing on     zoom films. A third of the writers were black, Asian                               New Voices writers              and how to approach writing on existing
the upcoming series of Ralph and Katie of which       and minority ethnic.                                                               achieved firm paid              shows, alongside practical craft sessions
two, Amy Trigg and Lizzie Watson are on our                                                                                              commissions                     on writing comedy, animation and more.
                                                            SCHEME                                            Total writers      BAME     Lower SED    Disability
                                                                                                                                                                         Following the festival, the writers were
                                                            TV Drama Writers' Programme 2020/21                        11                                                invited to apply for a number of
                                                            Scottish Drama Writers' Programme                           7                                                meaningful placements, mentorships and
                                                            Drama Room 2020/21                                         20                                                pitching opportunities on much-loved
                                                            Comedy Room 2020/21                                        19                                                CBBC and CBeebies brands including
                                                            Writers' Access Group 2020/21                              13                                                JoJo and Gran Gran, as well as on new
                                                            Belfast Voices 2020/21                                     10
                                                                                                                                                                         content such as Tales from Malory Towers,
                                                            Cornish Voices 2020/21                                     16
                                                                                                                                                                         the new drama podcast produced by King
                                                            London Voices 2020/21                                      16
                                                                                                                                                                         Bert for BBC Sounds.
                                                            Northern Voices 2020/21                                    16
                                                            Scottish Voices 2020/21                                    31                                                The programme has proved to be a highly
                                                            Welsh Voices 2019/20                                       16                                                successful initiative for welcoming diverse
                                                            TOTAL                                                     175          54            48           23         writing talent and many have had access
                                                                                                                                                                         to unparalleled opportunities with CBBC
                                                                                                                                                                         and CBeebies shows through New Voices.

                BBC Diversity Commissioning
                Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21      CBBC, Malory Towers:
                                                              King Bert Productions Limited
Introduction                         Section 1: Leading by example       Section 2: Authentic portrayal      Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce       Measurement
                                                                                                              and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                           16
Authentic portrayal continued

BBC Comedy                                             The Caroline Aherne Bursary was launched in            well as being 66% female and 50% visually
                                                       memory of the comedy star and writer to support        diverse, much of the filming took place in its
The Felix Dexter Bursary is an opportunity
                                                       the development of new comedy talent from              contributors’ communities in countries around the
designed to find writers with a fresh point of view
                                                       working class backgrounds. Now in its fourth year,     world.
and the potential to help shape the future of                                                                                                                          Athena Kugblenu,
                                                       it has proved a great springboard for talented
comedy, whether in the BBC or elsewhere in the                                                                For the 25th anniversary of the Disability               Felix Dexter
                                                       writer/performers to bring new work to the screen.
industry. It aims to make a positive intervention to                                                          Discrimination Act, we commissioned a run of             Awardee 2020
address an under-representation in comedy              Sophie Willan was named as the first winner of the     drama programmes celebrating the work of
production.                                            Caroline Aherne Bursary in 2017. Her pilot Alma’s      disabled artists. They included Bartholomew
                                                       Not Normal premiered on BBC Two in April 2020          Abominations, co-produced with Graeae Theatre, a
The bursary is open to black, Asian and other
                                                       and has now been commissioned as a full series.        drama company of people with disabilities, and
minority ethnic writers or writing duos who are
                                                                                                              Connections, three inter-connected monologues
aged 18 or over and we follow. the careers of every
participant.
                                                       Commissioning with                                     written and performed by disabled artists, on the

We’ve seen continued success, with writers
                                                       authenticity in mind                                   experience of isolation in lockdown
                                                                                                                                                                       BBC Two, Alma’s Not Normal:
                                                                                                              We are constantly on the lookout for new diverse         Expectation Entertainment Limited
working on established shows such as: BBC              We encourage producers to come to us with ideas
                                                                                                              leadership and diverse talent. As part of our BBC
Three’s Famalam, This Country, Mrs Brown’s Boys        that have diversity, authenticity and inclusion at
                                                                                                              England/BBC Three Northern Voices scheme we
and BBC Radio 4’s Newsjack. One of our writers         their heart from the start. The conversation can
                                                                                                              commissioned Leeds based diverse-led indie
made their Edinburgh Fringe Festival debut             then move quickly to how can we make it the best
                                                                                                              ClockWork, to make No More: Bad Girl which
following their second year of the scheme. The         it can be – rather than what needs to change.
                                                                                                              follows the Huddersfield presenter and producer
third Felix Dexter Bursary was awarded to
                                                       In October 2020, BBC Four aired CripTales, a           Persephone Rizvi, looking at the friendships that
stand-up comedian Athena Kugblenu.
                                                       dramatic monologue series which focused on the         shaped her in her hometown.
“The dedicated time to work on                        experiences and stories of disabled people,
                                                                                                              Shameless writer Danny Brocklehurst who has
                                                       produced by BBC Studios.
 my pilot with the backing of                                                                                 been the voice behind a number of northern
                                                       In addition to being written, directed and acted by    working class Dramas was commissioned to work
 BBC Comedy commissioning,                                                                                    on Ecstasy: The Battle of Rave, working with a new
                                                       a range of people with disabilities, the series was
 and contacts across the                               curated by writer and actor Matt Fraser.               up-and-coming writer on a podcast called ‘Fight
 industry, have developed                              The BBC’s recent documentary Dark Matters: A
                                                                                                              of the Century’. The diverse writer had come
                                                                                                              though the BBC Writersroom and approached us
 my craft to a professional                            History of the Afrofuture explored the connection      with the idea. We teamed them up with an
 standard which has opened                             between sci-fi and black history and the way in        established Indie and commissioned a podcast.
                                                       which the genre has been seen to articulate the
 the door to working on a                              black experience. The BBC Natural History Unit’s
 whole range of shows.”                                Planet Defenders was a CBBC commission which
                                                       cast six young diverse talent as its presenters – as
Athena Kugblenu, Felix Dexter Bursary winner.

                BBC Diversity Commissioning
                Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example        Section 2: Authentic portrayal       Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce   Measurement
                                                                                                              and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                 17
Authentic portrayal continued

                                                     Providing a platform                                    CDX created a platform for internal diverse talent
                                                                                                             to become more visible with senior leaders,
                                                     for authentic voices                                    helping to amplify their capability and talents, it
                                                     to be heard                                             enabled them to perfect their craft, gain new skills
                                                                                                             and grow confidence whilst developing and
                                                     Last year we launched CDX – Creative Diversity          forming relationships with influential leaders and
                                                     Xperience. CDX was an experience unlike any             key stakeholders across the business.
                                                     other, reimagined for online audiences and a first
                                                                                                             We implemented an open and transparent process
                                                     for the BBC, a first for the industry, and a first-
                                                                                                             that attracted producers and content creators
                                                     hand experience for diverse audiences age of
                                                                                                             across the UK. Those who were less experienced
                                                     16–34s.
                                                                                                             were partnered with experienced producers and
                                                     Diverse colleagues and external content creators        supported through the process. A number of
                                                     told stories that resonated with them, their local      colleagues were appointed to senior positions
                                                     communities and lived experiences, using their          such as: Head of Radio 1Xtra, Head of Asian
                                                     authentic voices to bring the stories to life.          Network and BBC’s first Race Lead

                                                     74% of the CDX team were from Black, Asian
                                                     Minority Ethnic backgrounds and 12% had a
                                                     disability, 60% were female, 8% from LGBTQ+
                                                     backgrounds and 10% aged under 35, came
                                                     together to create over 6 hours of original content
                                                     that was fully accessible with subtitles embedded
                                                     across all programmes, attracting 36,000 new
                        The Watches: BBC Studios     users to the BBC platform.

                                                          CBBC, Young, Black and British – Hear Us: A Newsround
                                                                    Special: BBC Children’s In-house Production

               BBC Diversity Commissioning
               Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example       Section 2: Authentic portrayal       Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce       Measurement
                                                                                                             and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                    18
Authentic portrayal continued

                                                      	Case study:
                                                        Morning Live

                                                      At Morning Live we carefully select talent,            We worked with a Muslim fitness trainer to put
                                                      presenters and guests to ensure we portray             together a tailored daily workout for those
                                                      authentic on-air representation.                       fasting during Ramadan. We’ve also had open
                                                                                                             conversations with talent about clothing and
                                                      Examples of this are working with black, Asian                                                                  BBC Three, Man like
                                                                                                             hair, and taken into consideration factors like the
                                                      and minority ethnic doctors, to talk about the                                                                  Mobeen: Tiger Aspect
                                                                                                             prep time for getting ready for a show when you          Productions
                                                      slow uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine amongst the
                                                                                                             have afro hair and we’ve actively encouraged our
                                                      black, Asian and minority ethnic community,
                                                                                                             talent to wear what they feel comfortable in.
                                                      working with a black doctor and presenter to
                                                      talk about black skin problems and engaging            As a result we’ve created a much more authentic
                                                      talent with different disabilities to discuss issues   and relatable programme for our viewers and a
                                                      that are specific to them.                             much more inclusive environment for our team
                                                                                                             – both on-air and off-screen.
                                                      Disability topics we’ve covered with disabled
                                                      presenters have included gardening when you
                                                      have accessibility issues, exercising if you have
                                                      low mobility, travelling when blind or partially
                                                      sighted, dating whilst shielding, navigating a
                                                      career and relationships when you have ADHD or
                                                      autism and many more.

                                                      We had a great reception to a film we showed
                                                      that highlighted how people without a voice
                                                      were stripped of their regionality and class
                                                      because of limited software. We then followed
                                                      up the story of one contributor who has since                                                                   BBC One, Morning Live:
                                                      worked with software programmers to find a                                                                      BBC Studios
                                                      working class, north east accent to represent
                                                      his voice.

                BBC Two, Alex Brooker: Disability
                      and Me: Wonder Television

               BBC Diversity Commissioning
               Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example   Section 2: Authentic portrayal   Section 3: Casting should be open    Section 4: A diverse workforce       Measurement
                                                                                                     and fair                             makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                      19
Section 3:

Casting should
be open and fair

                                                                                                                             BBC One, Sitting in Limbo: Left Bank Pictures. BAFTA Best Single Drama

                                                                                                              We take steps to ensure casting is open and
                                                                                                              fair to all, which includes regionality as well as
                                                                                                              accessibility, that is why we strongly encourage
                                                                                                              our programme makers to cast across all four
                                                                                                              Nations and from a wide range of diverse
                                                                                                              backgrounds and experiences.

                                                                                                              One of the positive learnings from the
                                                                                                              pandemic was the breakdown of casting
                                                                                                              barriers as many screen tests and auditions
                                                                                                              were conducted over zoom.

                                                                                                              As social distancing restrictions are lifted we
                                                                                                              will work closely with our suppliers to ensure
                                                                                                              these benefits are maintained.

                                                                                                                         See how we are measuring our progress

               BBC Diversity Commissioning
               Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21                                                      BBC One, Casualty: BBC Studios
Introduction                          Section 1: Leading by example       Section 2: Authentic portrayal        Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce   Measurement
                                                                                                                 and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                    20
Casting should be open and fair
continued

We expect our suppliers to                              On high profile Dramas like Pursuit of Love and His
                                                        Dark Materials we have effectively demonstrated
arrange castings in places                              colour blind casting. In the Pursuit of Love - two of
with suitable accessibility,                            the romantic interests are played by Shahzad Latif
and additional measures have                            who is British-Asian and Assad Bouab who is
                                                        French-Morrocan.
been taken this year for greater
                                                        BBC Scotland Comedy series Scot Squad has an
accessibility due to the pandemic
                                                        open casting policy. Each year it provides a              CBeebies, Let’s go for a Walk:
with positive outcomes.                                 number of emerging actors their first role on the         Hello Halo Productions
                                                        BBC by reaching out to non-represented talent
For example, BBC Children’s In-House Productions        and casting the net wide. This year saw
ensures that wherever possible sets are purpose         contributions from stand ups, wrestlers and
built and accessibility is considered from the          reformed prisoners. Casting reaches to diverse
outset. For example, on Step Up To The Plate, a         communities including Black Asian Minority
competition format in which groups of children run      Ethnic, disabled and those from lower socio
a restaurant, the set was built to accommodate          economic backgrounds.
the needs of disabled contributors.
                                                        Another BBC Scotland series Word Up was a new
Ricky Wilson’s Art Jam was filmed in a location         Black Asian Minority Ethnic led podcast project
with a mezzanine floor where some format points         that actively sought production talent by reaching
were filmed. When filming with a contributor who        out to the Black Asian Minority Ethnic networks
was a wheelchair user a new space was dressed on        across Scotland leading to a 100% Black Asian
the ground floor to enable participation whilst still   Minority Ethnic presenting and production team:
having the section feel like it was filmed on set.      Two co-hosts, one male and one female. As
                                                        Scotland is only 4% Black Asian Minority Ethnic,
When filming Let’s Go For a Walk with a
                                                        this was a very positive result from the production.
contributor with Down’s Syndrome additional
measures were taken to make her feel
comfortable. For example, the production team
designed a visual document to prepare the

                                                        9
contributor which included pictures of the people
she would meet on the day.

                                                        Inclusive casting workshops.
                                                        PACT Diversity partnership

                                                                                                                BBC One, A Suitable Boy:
                                                                                                                          Lookout Point
                 BBC Diversity Commissioning
                 Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                         Section 1: Leading by example       Section 2: Authentic portrayal       Section 3: Casting should be open    Section 4: A diverse workforce        Measurement
                                                                                                               and fair                             makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        21
Casting should be open and fair
continued

We have committed to cast our content without          Over 25% of composers commissioned for new              Within BBC Children’s they also try and limit
prejudice or pre-conception, with the aim of           musical works were from a diverse background in         barriers to authentic casting. For example an actor
                                                                                                                                                                         BBC One, Ambulance: Dragonfly
reflecting diverse communities, backgrounds and        20/21, including some completely new to Radio 3         with a cochlear implant was cast to play
                                                                                                                                                                         Film and Television Productions,
beliefs across the breadth of our output, and all      through our ‘Composer Postcards’ commission             a character with a hearing impairment on Mystic.          Diversity Fund trainee editor
nations and regions of the UK.                         during the Covid-19 lockdown.                           As the actress that was found was considerably            scheme in North West
                                                                                                               younger than had been envisaged, the role was
For BBC Three series Step into the Ring, made in
Norfolk, BBC England took additional measures to
                                                       Our suppliers are making                                re-written to account for this rather than casting
                                                                                                               an actress without a hearing impairment.
ensure diverse authenticity onscreen, this             a difference
approach ensured a cast of young people who                                                                    We are learning the lessons from the pandemic
attend a wrestling gym, were included and              During the pandemic, our programme makers
                                                                                                               and building in positive working practices for the
adjustments were made to facilitate some               have taken greater steps to be more inclusive
                                                                                                               future.
participants who had a range of disabilities, these    which has resulted in the increase of disabled
included one individuals who had neurodiversity        talent working on our programmes and coming
and another who was registered blind.                  through our auditions, this is due to the measures
                                                       implemented around agile and flexible working
                                                                                                                                                                         BBC Three, Step into the Ring: BBC England In-house
We facilitated travel and arranged suitably quiet      that have benefited our talent and our shows.
spaces for interviews and supported the audition
of a young person with Down’s Syndrome.                Across BBC England they have encouraged all
                                                       suppliers to make casting accessible for everyone.
We have committed to encourage and support             In BBC Scotland, online casting was used to
interventions or initiatives to reduce barriers and    support diverse talent. Casting via Zoom (or phone
promote opportunity.                                   for homes where there weren’t the facilities to
                                                       video call) meant talent were not disadvantaged if
International Women’s Day 2021 was marked on
                                                       they were unable to travel, couldn’t afford to travel
BBC Radio 3 with a week of afternoon concerts
                                                       or had other physical accessibility requirements.
from the BBC Orchestras & Choirs of music by
women spanning 300 years, as a celebration of          Elsewhere, Scripts have been provided in
female creativity.                                     alternative formats eg. Voice recorded scripts or
                                                       accompanying written scripts in a larger font to
We have also expanded the remit of a team in BBC
                                                       support a presenter with dyslexia. In this case the
Wales to uncover and raise the profile of diverse
                                                       production team would also film pieces to camera
composers, as well as gender diversity already
                                                       in small chunks.
under focus to highlight female composers.

                BBC Diversity Commissioning
                Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                         Section 1: Leading by example       Section 2: Authentic portrayal     Section 3: Casting should be open    Section 4: A diverse workforce        Measurement
                                                                                                            and fair                             makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      22
Casting should be open and fair
continued

                                                      In 2020/21 we continued conversations with our        Across our continuing drama programmes the
                                                      suppliers on how we can start to develop teams        BBC Studios casting team has an internal remit to
                                                      and stories with a particular focus in Radio.         cast more disabled actors in roles that do not
                                                                                                            reference disability. They have also had notable
                                                      A number of documentaries and series were
                                                                                                            success with casting more supporting artists with
                                                      commissioned offering fresh perspectives from
                                                                                                            visible disabilities with no access issues on either
                                                      musicians and writers with a diverse background.
                                                                                                            front.                                                    BBC Three, The Break: BBC
                                                      These include composer Errollyn Wallen on the
                                                      Commonwealth’s musical response to British            Various initiatives during lockdown have included:        Studios. Episode writers Angela
                                                                                                                                                                      Clarke, William Barrington, Rob
                                                      classical influence, opera singer Peter Brathwaite    working with socio-economic theatre company
                                                                                                                                                                      Kinsman, Annalisa Dinella and
                                                      on black portraiture and writer Colin Grant on the    Cardboard Citizens to audition and cast                   Lettie Precious part of Writers
                                                      boundaries of black identity.                         individuals, Project Lockdown - auditioned all            Access Group
                                                                                                            actors due to leave last summer from all drama
                                                      In spring 2020, BBC Radio 3 brought Winsome
                                                                                                            schools via self-tape in light of Covid-19
                                                      Pinnock’s play Rockets and Blue Lights about the
                                                                                                            restrictions and maintaining relationships with
                                                      British slave trade onto radio when the lockdown
                                                                                                            BBC training programme Class Act by casting
                                                      terminated all stage productions. Radio 3 went on
                                                                                                            individuals on The Break.
                                                      to win several awards for innovations in taking the
                                                      play online.

                                                      Question of Sport made editorial adjustments to
                                                                                                                                                                      BBC One, His Dark Materials: Bad Wolf Limited
                                                      ensure that a partially sighted Paralympian
                                                      contributor was able to fully participate in all
                               BBC Two, Shetland:
                                                      rounds of the show, by reducing reliance on
                          ITV Studios / Silverprint
                                                      visual content.

               BBC Diversity Commissioning
               Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                        Section 1: Leading by example   Section 2: Authentic portrayal   Section 3: Casting should be open   Section 4: A diverse workforce      Measurement
                                                                                                     and fair                            makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                  23
Section 4:

A diverse workforce
makes for better content

                                                                                                                                             CBBC, Swashbuckle: Children’s In-house Productions

                                                                                                               In the drive to attract and retain diverse creative
                                                                                                               talent we seek creative solutions to ensure we
                                                                                                               achieve that goal. Internally our job opportunities
                                                                                                               now include targeted advertising to support
                                                                                                               reaching new and more diverse talent. We also
                                                                                                               work closely with our producers to inspire and
                                                                                                               support innovative solutions to career
                                                                                                               development on our independent productions.

                                                                                                               We track progress across our off-screen targets
                                                                                                               and actively encourage compliance on industry
                                                                                                               monitoring tools.

                                                                                                                          See how we are measuring our progress

                                                                                                            BBC One, Nadiya’s Amercian Adventure: Wall to Wall Media
               BBC Diversity Commissioning
               Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
Introduction                                   Section 1: Leading by example           Section 2: Authentic portrayal    Section 3: Casting should be open    Section 4: A diverse workforce       Measurement
                                                                                                                           and fair                             makes for better content

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   24
A diverse workforce makes for
better content continued

What we are doing                                                   The BBC has implemented best practice
                                                                    approaches in our employment policies, including
                                                                                                                           potential in all candidates including video
                                                                                                                           applications, assessment days, sequential
ourselves                                                           all apprenticeships being paid positions, and          interviewing and aptitude testing. Travel expenses
                                                                    unpaid work experience placements are limited          are covered to ensure the widest socio-economic
As set out in Chapter 1 the BBC has set clear and
                                                                    to 2 weeks, except where the individual may            pool can attend assessments and interviews, and
transparent goals about its diverse transformation
                                                                    benefit from additional time to get the same level     all candidates are made aware that the BBC
plan – and we are publicly reporting our progress.
                                                                    of experience as their peers.                          supports reasonable adjustments to maximise
All staff and leadership: 31 March 2021                                                                                    accessibility.
                                                                    We are also running and following through on a                                                                   BBC One, The Wheel final:
WORKFORCE                               Mar-21           Target     number of talent development and recruitment           The Radio 1Xtra Inspire ME Masterclasses -                Hungry McBear
                                                                    programmes for example:                                Instagram Lives launched in April/May 2020, using
Women (all staff)                      48.6%           50.0%
                                                                                                                           the social media platform to engage with diverse
Women (leadership)*                    46.1%           50.0%        The News Development team offer ongoing
                                                                                                                           audiences.
                                                                    support to over 200 people who have been on
BAME (all staff)                       15.9%           20.0%
                                                                    their development programmes (Women in                 The programme includes weekly Instagram ‘lives’
BAME (leadership)*                     12.6%           20.0%        Leadership, News Development Programme,                hosted by Radio 1Xta presenters providing insight
Disability (all staff)                   9.0%           12.0%       Women in Tech, Extend in Leadership etc). There        and advice on a range of different industries, which
Disability (leadership)*                 8.2%           12.0%       is a minimum 75% success rate of participants          have included music, podcasting and radio.
                                                                    moving into new roles after a year of completing
* BBC Leadership relates to those individuals who are at ‘Band E’                                                          The masterclasses were made available on
  and above.
                                                                    the development programmes so there are clear
                                                                                                                           Instagram TV and had around 36,000 views,
                                                                    and tangible outcomes to investing in the talent
                                                                    pipeline. Our programmes all include access to         The programme is underpinned by the 1Xtra
                                                                    senior leadership and have mentoring/                  Inspire ME Forum, launched in June-October
                                                                    sponsoring/coaching built in.                          2020, these online sessions that were launched as
                                                                                                                           a result of Black Live Matter and the pandemic.
                                                                    BBC Children’s and Education have introduced
                                                                    video and visual content to their job vacancies to
                                                                    ensure adverts engage the widest possible
                                                                    audience.

                                                                    It advertises roles in a variety of ways to attract
                                                                    the widest pool of candidates, including on
                                                                    Twitter, LinkedIn and on relevant Facebook
                                                                    groups and increasingly, the application process
                                                                    is utilising inclusive hiring techniques to identify

                                                          BBC Three, Glow Up, Ophelia:                                                   BBC Three, Meet the Khans: Big in Bolton:
                                                          Wall to Wall Media                                                                   Objective Media Group Production

                     BBC Diversity Commissioning
                     Code of Practice Progress Report 2020/21
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