Latest in Jack Thorne

The UK TV industry needs to attract another 13,500 disabled people to be truly reflective of the workforce and population, according to a landmark disability in TV report issued today by diversity body Diamond. Analyzing disability progress over the past five years, the report said the scale of…

Veep and The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci is still angry. In fact, he told delegates here at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday that he is “angrier than ever” at the direction of the UK’s politics and broadcasting, seven years after his blistering MacTaggart lecture urged the BBC to fight back against its…

When His Dark Materials writer Jack Thorne stepped up to the Edinburgh TV Festival MacTaggart podium last year in an audience-less room, he wanted to address an issue that had felt hopelessly ignored in the mainstream through past decades. The prolific British scribe’s proclamation that UK TV had “utterly and totally&#8221…

EXCLUSIVE: Britain’s major broadcasters and streamers are taking a stand on “clear and disturbing” access issues impacting the industry’s disabled population and have demanded change from studios and post-production facilities. Deadline can exclusively reveal that the flagship cross-industry initiative to be launched…

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes (1917) has linked up with acclaimed His Dark Materials writer Jack Thorne on a new project for the stage that will explore how legendary acting figures Richard Burton and John Gielgud put Hamlet on Broadway in 1964, with a little help from Elizabeth Taylor. The result of…

Russell T Davies’ It’s a Sin and Jack Thorne’s Help, two hard-hitting Channel 4 shows about societal issues, have dominated this year’s BAFTA TV Awards nominations, taking six and four noms, respectively. Incorporating BAFTA Craft noms, which run concurrently with the TV Awards, HBO Max co-production It’s a Sin picked…

The creative team behind Jack Thorne’s BBC/Netflix drama Then Barbara Met Alan has rewritten the rules on disability representation for the Crip Camp-esque drama about two UK trailblazers whose campaigning led to the passing of the Disability Discrimination Act. Producer Dragonfly TV compiled a report that has been…

UK training body ScreenSkills is actioning one of the key recommendations from Jack Thorne’s report into disability in TV by funding the training of Accessibility Co-ordinators. Similar to Intimacy and Covid Co-ordinators, the role will support TV productions in hiring and working with disabled talent and crew and…

Nearly three-quarters of disabled people working in UK animation believe that the sector is discriminating against them, according to a first-of-its-kind report from industry training body ScreenSkills. The Accessibility in Animation report, which paints a “bleak picture,” also found the majority of disabled people…

BBC One’s The A Word spin-off Ralph & Katie, which was created by a group of disabled writers overseen by Peter Bowker, has entered production in Manchester and the Lake District. The six-parter from ITV Studios, Keshet Productions and Tiger Aspect, which follows the two beloved A-Word characters played by Leon Harrop…

His Dark Materials and Help writer Jack Thorne has been recognized for Outstanding Contribution to Writing at tonight’s 29th Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards (WGGBAs), with Russell T Davies, Emerald Fennell and Armando Iannucci also taking home gongs. The prolific Thorne, who delivered this year’s Edinburgh…

EXCLUSIVE: Major industry bodies Equity, Time’s Up, and Jack Thorne’s Underlying Health Condition lobbying group have joined the Coalition for Change, the body seeking to improve working conditions in UK TV. The Coalition, which already has buy-in from broadcasters, big super-indies and producer trade body Pact…