ITV Studios is a production and distribution company based out of the UK. The company has expanded to create the role of disability access coordinator, which will be spearheaded by Bethany Matthews. Matthews has been appointed as the first ever employee in this role for the company. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “In the role, Matthews will ensure accessibility requirements and solutions are available across all seven in-house ITV Studios’ drama labels to those who are Deaf, disabled, neurodivergent or have long-term health conditions.”
Director of production, drama, at ITV, Julie Clark, was excited to announce her excitement behind what the company is doing to support the TV Access Project. The TV Access Project’s vision is to ensure no disabled talent is ever excluded due to barriers. Via The Hollywood Reporter, “Matthews, one of the first 12 access coordinators to be trained in the U.K by ScreenSkills and Bridge06, previously worked at the BBC, Netflix, Sky and Channel 4.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, Matthews stated, “This is about the bigger picture for me. When accessibility is at the forefront of production, whether it’s through making the casting process or post-production more accessible to talent, we’ll really start to see talent that the industry has been missing.”
ITV Studios agreed to meet the guidelines set by the TV Access Project for disability inclusion during production as well as in facility and studio spaces. Disney+ UK, Britbox International, Sky, Prime Video, ITV, BBC, Paramount, UKTV, and Channel 4, all ten of the UK’s largest streamers and broadcasters, according to The Hollywood Reporter, are “agreeing to address issues around funding models for access and adjustments, the deployment of access coordinators and both disabled talent’s retention and progression into senior roles.” Tanya Motie, co-project lead of the TV Access Project, believes how successful the project is relies on the partnership between disabled visionaries working in production, and large industry members. ITV Studios partnering with the TV Access Project will help move them towards their goal of total inclusivity by 2030.