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.