Injury On Film Set Prevention Urged In Open Letter To Lisa Nandy

EXCLUSIVE: Bosses at the British broadcasting union, leading association of agents and anti-bullying body have come together to urge government support helping prevent injury on film, TV and theater sets.

A “broad coalition” of 15 influential industry figures have signed a just-published open letter that was sent to UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy and pensions secretary Pat McFadden last night.

The group are calling for a “framework” that will “meet this moment” and “promote the safety of cast and crew at work.”

Organized by Tome Levi at the Injury Prevention Consultancy (IPC), the letter comes a year after a landmark IPC report “sparked an industry wide conversation about areas of production safety that have been historically overlooked, and presented employers with a powerful case to ameliorate this state of play,” the letter said. These “overlooked areas” included gaps in communication between relaying the physical demand of acting roles and a subsequent lack of on-set support. Overall, the report unearthed high workplace injury rates for cast and crew, disproportionately expensive injury claims and a risk of severe mental health deterioration due to occurrence of injury.

Since the report, the group have been frustrated with a lack of progress. Signatories of the letter include Philippa Childs, the head of broadcasting union Bectu, Donna French and Kevin Brady, the co-chairs of the Personal Managers’ Association, which represents agents, and Jen Smith, who runs anti-bullying body CIISA. There is also Andra Milsome, the wife of Mtark Milsome and founder of the Mark Milsome Foundation, whose husband died on the set of Netflix-BBC drama Black Earth Rising in 2017.

“It is incumbent upon all stakeholders to recognise that the safety and welfare of our workforce is fundamental to safeguarding the world class product that the British stage and screen sectors offer,” reads the letter. “We have called upon our industry to meet this moment and demonstrate a united front in calling for action to improve the safety of working conditions. We now call on this government to support us in making this action a reality.”

The group have called for a meeting with Nandy and McFadden in October to “actualise the degree of systemic change we want to see.”

Death and injury on set was placed in the spotlight with the death of Milsome, whose passing was branded preventable at an inquest in 2020. It returned to the fore with the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust after Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that he didn’t realize contained a live bullet. Recent examples of injury on set include Sophie Turner on Tomb Raider, Henry Cavill on Highlander and Ian McKellen on Player Kings.

The letter in full

Dear Secretaries of State,

We the undersigned are writing to bring to your attention the high rates of workplace injury in the UK’s film, television and theatrical industries. This matter was highlighted last year, when the IPC’s Impact of Injury (IOI24) report unveiled difficult yet urgent truths about the realities of working in production. In the wake of its publication, the findings sparked an industry wide conversation about areas of production safety that have been historically overlooked, and presented employers with a powerful case to ameliorate this state of play.

Our industry’s greatest asset is its people, and protecting their welfare is a responsibility we all share. We have heard the concerns of our colleagues, and are committed to taking action to make things better.

We recognise that we are part of the systems we are asking to improve. The sectoral consultations and roundtables held in the wake of the IOI24 publication point to a solution which lies in improved education and enforced regulation in this space. As a broad coalition of industry stakeholders, we are committed to developing a framework that will encompass both, in so doing promoting the safety of cast and crew at work. In order to actualise the degree of systemic change we want to see, we ask for the direct engagement of the addressed government departments to support the development and delivery of this framework. In view of this, we would welcome your commitment to meet with the signatories of this letter at our next meeting in October 2026.

In the Creative Industries Sector Plan in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, the Culture Secretary’s Ministerial foreword states: “By 2035, the UK will be recognised as best place in the world to make and invest in film and TV, video games, music, performing and visual arts, and advertising and marketing.” Against the backdrop of this government’s stated aim, we ask the government to recognise that high job quality cannot coexist with high workplace injury rates, and acknowledge the strong and clear alignment between these policy ambitions and the need for further robust, solution led work to reduce the occurrence of workplace injury in this sector.

It is incumbent upon all stakeholders to recognise that the safety and welfare of our workforce is fundamental to safeguarding the world class product that the British stage and screen sectors offer. We have called upon our industry to meet this moment and demonstrate a united front in calling for action to improve the safety of working conditions. We now call on this government to support us in making this action a reality.

Signed,

Tome Levi
Director IPC
Alexander Nicoll
Head of Media & Entertainment – Active Media Active Underwriting Specialists Ltd
Abbi Collins
Chair
Mark Milsome Foundation
Donna French
Council Co-chair
Personal Managers’ Association
Kevin Brady
Council Co-chair
Personal Managers’ Association
Matthew Hill
Chief Executive
Chartered Insurance Institute
Pippa Stone
Head of Media and Entertainment
Markel International Insurance Company Ltd
Andra Milsome
Founder
Mark Milsome Foundation
Charlotte Knight
Council Co-chair
Personal Managers’ Association
Jen Smith
CEO
Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority
Philippa Childs
Head of Bectu Bectu
Matt Hood
Managing Director Spotlight
Kelly Valentine Hendry
Owner
KVH Casting
Fiona Williams
Council Co-chair
Personal Managers’ Association
Paul Hillier
Director Tysers