Study of socio-economic profile reported by diversity organisation for the first time

Representation of people from working-class backgrounds in the TV industry lags behind the national working population, with issues at both junior and senior level, research has found.

The report by the Creative Diversity Network (CDN) found that only just over a quarter (27%) of off-screen TV professionals are from working-class backgrounds, significantly smaller than the national working population (39%).

Senior and non-senior representation is similarly stark, with a quarter (27%) of contributions coming from people who grew up in a working-class household. Senior and non-senior cohorts are both dominated by those who grew up in professional households.

Just over a tenth (13%) of off-screen contributions were made by people who attended a fee-paying school compared to the national average (7.5%). Nearly a fifth (17%) of off-screen senior role contributions were made by privately educated individuals. The report indicated that “educational privilege may be more important than class privilege when it comes to getting on in the industry”.

The figures were revealed in the CDN’s first deep dive into the socio-economic background of industry workers, with previous reports having focused on other diversity and inclusion measurements including ethnicity, gender, disability, age and sexual orientation.

According to the report, which covers content aired from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, more than half (60%) of the production industry grew up in a professional household, compared to just over a third (37%) of people in the general working population who come from a similar household.

It also revealed a relatively small contribution by people from an ‘intermediate’ background – occupations such as secretary, clerical workers and small business owners – with just 14% off-screen compared to nearly a quarter (24%) nationally.

“This ‘missing middle’ perhaps accentuates the divide felt between the other two other groups as well as the overall dominance of the professional classes,” it suggested.

Genre splits

According to the report, non-scripted programmes have a much higher representation of people who grew up in a professional household (60%), compared with scripted programmes (48%), and consequently a lower representation from people with a working-class or intermediate background.

Additionally, scripted shows have a higher proportion of contributions from people who attended private school (20%) than non-scripted programmes (13%), which may reflect the higher reliance dramas have on talent from specialised drama and performing arts institutions.

Drama and current affairs have the highest proportions of off-screen contributions made by people from a professional background (64% and 65% respectively), and therefore low representation from working-class groups (24% and 19%).

Working-class people make the biggest contributions to lifestyle (30%) and factual entertainment (32%).

Miranda Wayland, CDN’s chief executive, said: “For a long time, we’ve had to rely on guestimates and anecdotal evidence about socio-economic representation in the UK television industry. Now, for the first time, Diamond is providing the data and evidence confirming that coming from a home where your parents had a professional background, or being privately educated gives you a head start into a career in television and helps you progress.

“Diamond also reveals which genres have a higher representation of people from working class backgrounds – particularly lifestyle and factual entertainment. As broadcasters reduce their commissions of this type of programming, one consequence could be to make our industry even less representative.”

“We hope that broadcasters, production companies and other bodies will use this data, just as they have with other Diamond data, to shape policies to help make our industry a level playing field for creative talent from every household.”