Directors Digest — Friday 18 July 2025

In the news this week, UK actors union Equity began landmark legal action against casting directory Spotlight, the BBC is contemplating an outsourcing drive that could put thousands of UK jobs at risk, and Sky Kids announces it will no longer commission original children’s content.

Read about it in this week’s Digest.

New

•  The BBC is examining a significant outsourcing drive that could put thousands of jobs, currently carried out in the UK, at risk. (Guardian)

•  This week UK actors union Equity began landmark legal action against casting directory Spotlight. The union says Spotlight charges exorbitant membership fees and “exploits its monopoly position in the industry,” given that the vast majority of UK productions cast via Spotlight. (Deadline)

•  According to their Annual Report and Accounts the BBC has achieved a record audience digitally, with the broadcaster informing, educating and entertaining 94% of UK adults on average, every month. (BBC)

•  BBC Studios chief exec Tom Fussell expects to see more collaboration between broadcasters and streamers in the vein of ITVX’s recent pact with Disney in the UK and TF1’s deal with Netflix in France. (Broadcast)

•  Sky Kids will no longer commission original content as it “evolves” its strategy to focus on third-party acquired content. (Broadcast)

Featured

•  Leading figures in the TV sector share why toxic behaviour is jeapodising the British TV industry. Directors UK member Tina Gharavi and Board member Delyth Thomas contribute their thoughts on the persistence of bad behavior in the TV sector, how it disproportionately affects people from diverse backgrounds and with disabilities, and what can be done to make the industry a safer place to work. (Guardian)

•  Behind-the-scenes: Executive Producer Sam Wilson unpacks the tricky process of making Hunting My Sextortion Scammer for Channel 4’s Untold strand. (Broadcast)

Director Interviews

•  Directors UK Board member Abigail Dankwa is on the latest episode of the TV Show and Tell podcast, discussing her career as a multicamera director. (TV Show and Tell)

Awards

•  This week the Television Academy announced the nominees for the 77th Emmys. Special congrats to Directors UK members Adam Randall, Alex Rudzinski, Ben Archard, Hamish Hamilton, Philip Barantini, and Shannon Murphy, for receiving nominations. See the full list of nominees here. (Television Academy)