Funded by Royal Holloway and the Department of Media Arts, my PhD thesis investigates the wellbeing crisis faced by workers in the UK television industry, the barriers leaders face in improving wellbeing issues and solutions that create a positive and sustainable working environment for both workers and organisations. Issues such as bullying, sexual harassment, systemic bias, work precarity, long hours and low pay are considered the norm and go relatively unregulated, providing a working environment no other industry would tolerate. Covid, US strikes and the cost-of-living crisis exacerbated these pre-existing issues, which has produced an unsustainable situation for both workers and organisations that the industry is now beginning to take seriously but has failed to address appropriately.

Whilst recent literature has outlined the problems focusing on experiences from below-the-line workers, this thesis investigates the root causes and interconnectivity of these issues, concentrating on the point of view of the leaders in the industry, the issues they experience, the barriers they face in addressing these issues, and solutions they believe would be effective. Whilst industry leaders ask academia for answers, researchers contend it is not within their purview to do so. However, this thesis is intended to offer much needed proactive, sustainable solutions on individual, organisational and institutional levels, drawing upon media and leadership theories to support their suitability.


Data collection took place between January 2024 and June of 2025 through semi-structured, anonymised interviews with UK television leaders and subject matter experts. Though this was during a production drought leading many to be out of work for long periods of time, the solutions offered are sustainable and can offer insight to leaders, not just of creative industries, but most any industry. The thesis argues that ultimately, no solution or initiative will have a sustainable impact without dedicated and invested leadership behind it to implement it, support it and sustain it. Thus, proactive leadership is the key to improving wellbeing for television workers, which in turn will make this volatile industry more sustainable.


This PhD project passed an ethics review by the Royal Holloway Ethics Board before data collection commenced. Any concerns regarding its design or implementation can be directed toward the Ethics Board at [email protected]. 

I am a Visitng Lecturer at the Researcher Development Programme within the Royal Holloway Doctoral School. I teach postgraduate research students Structuring Your Literature Review with NVivo and Qualitative Data Analysis and Advanced Techniques with NVivo. I created the lesson plans and deliver lectures for both which include hands-on demonstrations and Q&As. Each meets for three hours per session over Teams.

I am also a Seminar Tutor for the Media Arts Department at Royal Holloway. I lead group seminars for Introduction to Media Histories and mark student essays.

I have been awarded Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA).