UK TV Industry Set To Relax Covid Production Protocols

EXCLUSIVE: The UK film and TV industry’s stringent Covid protocols are to be relaxed in line with Boris Johnson’s Living With Covid plan, which will see an end to virtually all mandated restrictions.

Adrian Wootton, CEO of The British Film Commission (BFC), which governs the protocols for film and high-end TV, told Deadline a consultation will take place in due course in relation to his organization’s Working Safely During Covid-19 in Film and High-end TV Drama Production guidance.

This guidance, which isn’t legally binding but acts as a framework, sets out best practice in areas such as travel, mask-wearing, equipment and first aid.

Meanwhile, Deadline understands consultation is underway on an eighth version of the wider TV sector’s pan-industry guidelines, which governs other genres such as entertainment, comedy and reality.

Both sets of guidelines will likely be updated to take into account broader societal changes in terms of living with Covid, and moving forwards they will still feature some form of best practice for TV production, Deadline understands.

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Some producers have already started relaxing protocols in anticipation of the move, with one senior source working on a big budget U.S. drama filming in the UK telling Deadline cast and crew have dropped their number of weekly tests from three to two, along with the requirement to wear masks outdoors while on set.

Along with the £500M ($680M) Film & TV Production Restart Scheme, the protocols, which were forged by a cross-section of industry figures, are recognized as having been crucial for getting production up-and-running again after the first lockdown’s near-total shutdown.

But implementing them is time-costly and tends to add around 20% to a show’s budget, according to various estimates.

John McVay, the CEO of producer trade body Pact, said: “There is a tension because everyone is so tired of the protocols but you need a safe environment to make sure people’s needs are catered for. This applies to everyone in the world of work.”

The move by UK industry bodies is reflective of the industry’s attempts to enter the next phase of the pandemic, with UK high-end TV and film booming.

The Film & TV Production Restart Scheme, which acts as an insurance backstop and has supported more than 1,000 productions since launching in summer 2020, is ending in just two months’ time. Deadline revealed on Monday that the UK government is prepared to step in if commercial insurers don’t return to the market at commercially viable rates.

The news comes as UK Prime Minister Johnson lifts virtually all Covid restrictions in England as part of his government’s Living with Covid plan, with other UK nations soon to follow suit. From tomorrow, English citizens will no longer have to self-isolate if they contract the disease, although they are still advised to, and free testing will end on April 1 for all apart from the vulnerable and elderly.