Directors Digest — Friday 8 August 2025

In the news this week, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee has called for live comedy to be recognised as a distinct art form, decline in TV job vacancies slowing according to data from The Talent Manager, and BAFTA has made changes in the International category ahead of next year’s TV awards.

Read about it in this week’s Digest.

News

•  The Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMSC) has called for live comedy to be recognised as a distinct art form, as well as making a series of recommendations to protect freelancers and producers in the genre. (Broadcast)

•  The volume of job vacancies in TV has fallen by more than half since 2019 although the rate of decline has begun to slow, according to data from The Talent Manager. (Broadcast)

•  ITV’s Director of Reality and Acquisitions, Paul Mortimer, has decided to step down from his role at the end of the year. (Televisual)

•  Bectu has welcomed the government’s plan to tackle late payments, which the creative industries union said is “absolutely critical” to protect the incomes of freelancers. (Broadcast)

•  In 2026, all BAFTA Television voters will determine the nominations and the winners in the International category, and to recognise the increasing trend of international co-productions in the craft TV categories, for team submissions with at least five candidates, Bafta is now allowing one exemption for a senior team member who might not be UK-eligible. (Televisual)

•  Bectu has urged the BBC to reverse its decision to air the upcoming series of MasterChef featuring the recently sacked presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode, after a contestant who has been edited out made fresh complaints about the show. (Broadcast)

Features

•  “Despite risk aversion in the market as a whole, experimentation is still on the books” — Televisual Genre Report: Entertainment TV. (Televisual)

Opinion

•  It’s not too late for movies to reject AI, writes David Ehrlich. (IndieWire)

Director Interviews

•  Directors UK Board member Susanna White recently spoke to Televisual about the craft that goes into directing television and film. Susanna shared why the first read of a script is crucial, the key role directors play in creating dramatic worlds, and why she feels it's important to feel a point of connection with the material as a director. (Televisual)