[Commlist] CFP What’s class got to do with it? Rethinking TV from the inside out - A One Day Symposium

The AHRC /What's On?/ Project Team: Beth Johnson, Dave O'Brien, Laura 
Minor, Anna Viola Sborgi
*What’s Class Got to Do With It? Rethinking TV from the Inside Out*
School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds
19th September 2025
*Keynote*: Philip Ralph, award-winning writer of screenplays for 
television and film and plays for stage and radio
*Closing plenary panel *
/A One-Day Symposium as part of the What’s On? Rethinking Class in the 
TV Industry research project – funded by the AHRC/
 From the working-class characters we see on screen to the systemic 
barriers behind the scenes, *class* has never been more central to 
debates about the British TV industry.
Recent data from the Creative Industries Policy Evidence Centre (PEC) 
reveals a stark picture: just *8%* of the Film, TV and Radio workforce 
come from working-class backgrounds - the lowest figure in over a decade 
(McAndrew et al. 2024; Stephenson 2024). Studies show that individuals 
from these backgrounds are systematically excluded at every stage of 
their careers (Carey et al. 2021; O’Brien et al. 2016; Oakley et al. 
2017; Brook et al. 2018). In response, the Creative Diversity Network 
(CDN) has committed to better tracking socio-economic diversity by 
adding class-focused questions to its 2024 Diamond survey.
Class is also increasingly visible in public and industry discourse. In 
2024, James Graham used the MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh TV 
Festival to deliver a powerful critique of the industry’s class 
inequalities, calling for structural change.
On screen, television is engaging with class in more complex and 
intersectional ways. /Alma’s Not Normal/ (BBC Two), /Help/ (C4), /Derry 
Girls/ (C4), /Dreamers/ (C4) and /Sherwood/ (BBC One) all portray class 
alongside gender, race, disability and place - reflecting shifting 
cultural conversations and the urgent need for scholarly engagement with 
these representations.
This one-day symposium invites new perspectives on class and television 
as both a *site of cultural meaning* and a *structure of exclusion*. 
While the central focus of the /What’s On? /research and this symposium 
is on television drama, we also welcome proposals that engage with other 
genres where class is a significant concern. Inspired by the /What’s 
On?/ research project, we draw on the Circuit of Culture model developed 
by the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS), which 
highlights five interlinked moments in cultural production: 
representation, identity, production, consumption, and regulation. This 
framework helps us ask: *how can we rethink class in TV from the inside 
out? *
We’re especially interested in work that:

  *
    Analyses how class is *represented* on screen - whose stories are
    told, and how are classed experiences shaped by race, gender,
    disability, and other intersecting identities?
  *
    Explores how class, in conjunction with other social positions,
    shapes*identities *and career trajectories within the industry.
  *
    Examines the structures of *production - *from hiring to
    commissioning, from freelancing to gatekeeping - with a focus on how
    intersecting inequalities of class, race, gender and disability are
    embedded in industry norms.
  *
    Investigates patterns of *consumption - *asking how classed
    experiences, alongside factors such as cultural background,
    language, and access, shape how audiences interpret and relate to
    television content.
  *
    Critiques *regulatory frameworks - *including policy, data
    collection, funding and diversity schemes – through the lens of
    class and its intersections with other structural inequalities*. *

While academic work has made valuable contributions - especially in 
reality TV and class representation (Wood & Skeggs 2011, 2012; Biressi & 
Nunn 2005, 2008; Munt 2008; Deery & Press 2017; Minor 2023) - important 
gaps remain. We need deeper intersectional analyses (Rice et al. 2019) 
and more focus on how class interacts with other forms of 
marginalisation (Malik 2013; Conor et al. 2015). We also need to connect 
industry practice, policy shifts, viewer experience and scholarly critique.
We welcome proposals from scholars, early career researchers, industry 
practitioners, activists, and creatives across disciplines and sectors.
*Key questions include:*

  *
    What is the impact of class and its intersections on contemporary TV
    production?
  *
    How is class represented, misrepresented, or silenced on screen, and
    how do these depictions intersect with race, gender, disability, and
    other identities?
  *
    How do audiences engage with classed narratives, and how are these
    experiences shaped by other aspects of identity and lived experience?
  *
    How do current policies, data practices, and regulatory frameworks
    address or overlook the intersecting inequalities of class, race,
    gender, and other identities in TV production?
  *
    How can scholarship and industry practice work together to address
    intersecting inequalities and create meaningful change?

Join us in Leeds for a critical and creative day of discussion, 
collaboration, and reimagining the future of British television - on and 
off screen.
We invite proposals for 15–20-minute papers. Please submit a 250-word 
abstract along with a short biography (maximum 80 words) to 
*(_whatsontvclass /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(whatsontvclass /at/ gmail.com)>_*by *4th 
July 2025*.
Applicants will be notified of the outcome during the week beginning 
*21st July 2025*.
*Registration is free. *
We are pleased to offer a limited number of UK travel bursaries (2–3) 
for PGRs, ECRs, or independent scholars presenting at the event. If your 
paper is accepted and you are eligible, you will be invited to complete 
a short application form.


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