Bullying is rife in television and film – and it’s certainly not just men

Everyone in the workplace has a responsibility to make sure that it is inclusive, safe and welcoming for all, writes Katy Brand

I was bullied in my first TV job (Getty)

When I was 18 years old I got a job as a runner on a BBC TV show. It was unpaid but I was given expenses for travel and I honestly felt like the luckiest person in the country. The world of TV and film has thrilled and fascinated me all my life, and it still does.

But that first job also showed me something else about this exciting and glamorous new world. Although the two stars could not have been nicer to me, there was something else lurking behind the scenes. One of the show’s researchers was a bully. Part of a runner’s role is to generally gopher, including fetching refreshments for anyone who is too busy themselves. This was fine, I was so excited just to be there, I’d do pretty much anything. But this researcher, let’s call her Barbara, thought it would be funny to torment me.

Every day she would call me over to her desk and tell me to get her lunch, making it clear that she simply couldn’t be bothered herself. She would laugh as she counted out the cost of a sandwich and a cup of tea in coppers. She kept these coppers in a large glass jar and I would have to stand and wait while she slowly placed each one on the desk – “one, two, three…” – all the way up to a couple of quid. I would then have to take this pile down to the canteen where a member of the catering staff would glare at me, while they too counted it all out again.

Barbara liked to quiz me on my sex life in front of the other researchers. They sat in an office away from the more senior team and I wasn’t about to tell anyone what was going on. I was loving the rest of the job and I knew how lucky I was, so I just sort of took it. “Luck Tax,” I would like to say to myself, “this is Luck Tax”, as Barbara asked me once again if I enjoyed anal sex.

To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, “if you want to test a person’s character, give them power”. That can be power over one person or many, but the test remains the same. And Barbara’s character was 100 per cent a***hole as it turned out. My only satisfaction is that I have now worked in TV for 24 years and never seen her ever again. I guess she just wasn’t suited to the world of light entertainment. Perhaps she is now a successful dominatrix.

There are a lot of Barbaras out there. And although high profile cases of abuse involving big stars, such as the scandal currently surrounding the allegations against Noel Clarke, there is also a problem of lower level bullying across the whole industry. It is an atmosphere that can be pervasive, especially if those at the top set the tone. And as my story shows, it’s not just men that do it. I have worked for terrible bosses over the years and I wouldn’t say that either gender outstrips the other in terms of bad behaviour, though the manifestation of it may differ.

In response to the fallout from the Noel Clarke allegations and Bafta’s apparent sanctioning of his award even after they were told of the accusations against him, there has been much soul searching going on publicly and privately. Most of us know we work in an insecure business, we know we have short contracts and many of them are awarded based on word of mouth, we know there are a thousand others queuing up to take our place if for “some reason” we don’t feel grateful enough. The worst of the abusers make this very clear when they are demanding your silence.

Earlier this week I wrote a thread of tweets about practical ways we can improve things for everyone, and it got more of a response than I was expecting. Without going into too much niche detail or jargon, I essentially wanted to identify that everyone in the workplace has a responsibility to make sure that it is inclusive, safe and welcoming for all. This isn’t some namby-pamby plea, it genuinely makes the work better, the outcome more impressive. I have worked on happy film sets and miserable film sets, and I know which produces a better product. Lots of people got in touch on Twitter to tell me that they felt it could apply to any workplace and I agree.

It’s not just stars who behave badly, though they get the most attention when they are busted. Bullies – “Barbaras” – are everywhere, but we can all tackle them when we see it. We can all be a villain from time to time. But that also means anyone can be a small-time superhero.