BCIDN Latest News
BBC Production Trainee Scheme 2010: Application dates 15 - 29 March
2nd March 2010.
The BBC is looking for fresh thinkers who can approach things from a different angle and have a passion for TV, radio and online production. Over 18 months we'll train and develop you and give you placements on programmes across the UK. You'll be mentored by a senior BBC manager and by the end of it you'll have the skills to turn fresh ideas into reality. It's a career path for creative people who love the media and know what our audiences want.
read moreCherylee Houston joins Coronation Street
23rd February 2010.
Coronation Street have announced that they have cast theshow's first regular disabled character. Wheelchair user Cherylee Houston is toappear in the show mid-April.
read moreBCIDN and FIVE event sparks debate about disability in children's programming
22nd February 2010.
BCIDN Chair Oona King, Head of Diversity at Channel 4, talks to Five Children's Commissioner Nick Wilson and CBBC presenter Ceri Burnell at an event held by the BCIDN and FIVE to encourage the Children's TV industry to ensure disability is more widely reflected in their programmes and programme making teams.
read moreBBC announces 2012 London Apprenticeships - applications open till 28th February 2010
4th February 2010.
This new BBC scheme is a fantastic opportunity to kick-start a career in the media. You will work at the BBC in London for a year, and your experience - together with training and study - will add up to all the skills and knowledge you need for a Creative and Digital Media Apprenticeship Level 3. You will study at Westminster Kingsway College and receive skills training at the BBC in West London. You'll work with teams making BBC TV programmes and websites in drama, entertainment, factual, children's or sport.
read moreCBBC Newsround Newsreader gives disabled children control of news
2nd February 2010.
Newsround has introduced technology to help children with motor disabilities read the news without having to rely on a carer, and to control the news they consume. The Newsround Newsreader uses scanning and switch technology to cycle through the various daily options and for the first time puts this audience in the driving sea.
read moreJob Opportunity with ITV - Closing date 20th January 2010
13th January 2010.
With our opportunities and encouragement you could fulfil your ambition to work in the media industry.
If you are a talented individual with a disability, who is looking for a chance to prove yourself in an environment where support is on offer in terms of access and personal development - then visit the ITV website or contact us for a job description and application form.
Our Enabling Talent traineeship offers practical experience of what it is really like with paid placements across a range of areas from programme making to accounting.
Us 5 - BBC online videos help people with learning difficulties make their choices
11th January 2010.
Us5 is one of the very few materials online created specially for people with learning difficulties, and has been a chance for the BBC to better understand how to create fully accessible content for this audience.
read moreChannel 4 to be Paralympic Broadcaster in the UK in 2012
11th January 2010.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has awarded the UK broadcast rights to Channel 4 following a highly competitive tender process
read moreRADAR People of the Year Awards - Application Form Update
18th November 2009.
Please note that EFD has contacted Radar about the application form which you can download from their website. The form is not displaying accurate information about the application process, and they are working on correcting it
read morePresenter with disfigurement reads FIVE News
13th November 2009.
James Partridge, CEO of Changing Faces, the UK's leading disfigurement charity will be presenting the lunchtime bulletin on Five News at 12.45pm from 16th November for a week.
read moreChannel 4's Cast Offs hits the Screen
9th November 2009.
Channel 4's new drama Cast Offs, which tackles disability head on, is to be transmitted at the end of November. The script by writers from Skins, Shameless and The Thick of It is stuffed with sex and politically incorrect jokes.
read moreOona King takes over as Chair of BCIDN
19th October 2009.
Channel 4's Head of Diversity, Oona King, is to take over as Chair of the Broadcasting and Creative Industries Disability Network. She replaces David Kogan, MD of Reel Enterprises, who has been Chair since 2004.
read morePACT appoint advisor to work with indies on Diversity
18th October 2009.
Pact, the BBC and Channel 4 have appointed Angela Chan to the newly created role of diversity adviser. The appointment is a key part of a strategy to boost diversity in the production sector by helping companies deliver the commitments in the recently-launched CDN Diversity Pledge.
read moreDoing Media Differently Awards
6th September 2009.
RADAR seeks nominations for great programmes, where commissioners, programme makers, the casting agents and/or disabled actors have brokennew ground and have done things differently.
read moreBBC in world first with iPlayer audio description
26th August 2009.
BBC in world first with IPlayer audio description
read more
Award winning director mentors young film maker
28th July 2009.
BCIDN Associate, Marilyn Gaunt, is currently mentoring a young film maker who is a wheelchair user, for a scheme initiated by the Grierson Trust. 5 x 5 minute documentaries are being made by young people around the theme of family.
read moreSix Disabled Actors in Channel 4's New Drama Cast Offs
28th July 2009.
Cast Offs is a highly ambitious new drama written by rising star Jack Thorne (Shameless, Skins, Scouting Book for Boys), in conjunction with Tony Roche (The Thick Of It) and Alex Bulmer (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, R4). In mock-documentary fashion, the show will tell the story of six disabled characters parachuted on to a remote and desolate island for a year, and follow their hardships as they build their own homes, grow their own food, fall in love and fight to survive.
read moreFive new disabled trainees join Channel 4
28th July 2009.
Channel 4 is placing five new disabled trainees on some of its top productions.
read moreSearch is on for Disabled Entrepreneurs
28th July 2009.
Sir Stelios Hajiloannou and Leonard Cheshire Disability are looking for an extraordinary businessperson to win The Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs 2009 and £50,000 which could transform their business.
read moreStrictly goes for new Wheelchair format
28th July 2009.
BBC3 is to mix the glitz of Strictly Come Dancing with wheelchairs in its latest disabled talent format.
read moreBBC launches Disabled Talent Directory and nationwide Talent Search
28th July 2009.
The BBC has created an online directory of Disabled Actors and Performers as part of their commitment to connect with all audiences and portray their lives authentically on screen.
New disabled character joins Eastenders
28th July 2009.
Disabled actor David Proud is to join the cast of Eastenders later this year.
read moreDisability confidence training for BBC's top news managers
28th July 2009.
More than 300 senior news managers at the BBC have undertaken disability training, aimed at improving their confidence in working with and managing disability within the News Division. The training aims to also increase the presence, accessibility and quality of portrayal in news stories that are not related to disability.
read moreFreda returns to Corrie
28th July 2009.
Freda, Emily's niece returns to the street to say goodbye to Emily as she's moving away. She then becomes an unlikely ally for Norris (Malcolm Hebden) who is having problems with his brother Ramsay (Andrew Sachs).
read moreMore disabled people to appear on Entertainment and Daytime TV
23rd June 2009.
Sixty key figures in entertainment and daytime programming from across the UK broadcasters and many independent production companies attended a workshop held by the BBC and the Broadcasting and Creative Industries Disability Network, alongside twenty disabled individuals who have already appeared on TV programmes or are working in the creative industries.
read more
Sex and Drugs and Rock n Roll – Ian Dury biopic
21st April 2009.
The Diversity Department of the UK Film Council is now focusing on supporting diversity projects to run alongside appropriate lottery funded production projects. A disability project is now being developed with the production company, New Boots and Panties 2 Ltd, and 104 Films which is attached to the Ian Dury biopic, Sex and Drugs and Rock N Roll read more
Magic Hour – A Digital Shorts Programme for Disabled Filmmakers
20th April 2009.
Magic Hour is a groundbreaking new UK-wide short film scheme for disabled filmmakers supported by the Diversity Department of the UK Film Council. read more
RNIB Congratulates SKY’s Audio Description Output
13th April 2009.
RNIB congratulates SKY as it increases its Audio Description output on its channels. read more
ATW updates its virtual team - April 2009
9th April 2009.
Access to Work has updated its virtual team read more
Channel 4 Diversity Production Training Scheme 2009
9th April 2009.
Channel 4's new Diversity Production Training Scheme is open for business. The scheme will offer 12 places in 2009 with placements in Drama, New Media and Production Management and will provide an opportunity for people to get their first break into the media industry. read more
ITV Backs Special Olympics
9th April 2009.
The organisers of the 8th Special Olympics GB National Summer Games, which are taking place in Leicester from 25th - 31st July, are today delighted to announce ITV as an official partner. read more
Soap's First Blind Actress Kitty Joins Emmerdale
26th March 2009.
Emmerdale's first blind character Lizzie Lakelywill arrive in the village this Spring. She an old friend of Lisa Dingle's and is on community service after apetty crime conviction. She has even been tagged to ensure she doesn't breachher curfew conditions. read more
TV's drama bosses to put more disabled actors on screen
11th March 2009.
British TV drama bosses from across the main channels are to take action to ensure that more disabled actors are cast in their programmes. Some of the most senior representatives from drama departments at ITV. BBC, Channel 4, Sky, Five, Welsh channel S4C, and a number of independent production companies came together with disabled actors for a workshop hosted by ITV and the BCIDN. read more
Parents claim disabled CBeebies presenter frightens young children
24th February 2009.
Complaints to the BBC about CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell, who was born with a short arm, have triggered a huge response among viewers and listeners.Nine people complained about Cerrie Burnell, with parents worried their children would be frightened by her and have nightmares. read more
Huge blog response to BBC advice on helping visually impaired viewers
23rd February 2009.
The BBC's Head of Newsroom Peter Horrocks has provoked a flurry of debate after asking all his newsreaders to ensure that they read out information like phone numbers on the screen to make it easier for visually impaired viewers. His internal email was leaked to the papers and he responded with a blog explaining his decision. read more
Access to Work updates its creative industries team - February 2009
8th February 2009.
Access to work updates its creative industries team read more
Meet Hollyoaks new star Hayley
8th February 2009.
Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks has a new star, actress Kelly-Marie Stewart, She plays 19 year old Hayley, favourite Zak Ramsey’s sister, who hates being defined by her condition, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and refuses to let it separate her from the crowd. A wheelchair user, she’s also realistic about the limitations it sometimes causes to her life, particularly romantically. read more
Channel 4 appoints Oona King as Head of Diversity
2nd February 2009.
King, a broadcaster and former MP, who is currently Senior Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister on Equalities and Diversity, has been given a brief to champion diversity across all Channel 4’s activities, both on and off-screen. read more
BBC Disability Scheme, EXTEND, UK-wide
27th January 2009.
Exclusively for disabled people, Extend is a BBC-wide work placement scheme which offers appropriately experienced and/or qualified disabled people a great opportunity to gain six-months' paid work experience within the BBC. read more
Access to Work Team Visits Emmerdale
19th October 2008.
The new Access to Work Virtual team responsible for broadcasting and film employees watched the crew of Emmerdale at work as part of a series of behind the scenes visits to TV and film sets organised by BCIDN. They also spent time learning about post production from ITV Yorkshire’s Head of Post Production Adrian Bleasdale, and met disabled staff working in the regional newsroom in Leeds, before watching the nightly news show Calendar from the gallery. read more
BBC announces Journalism Trainee Scheme and Talent Pool
25th September 2008.
Whether you’re starting out in journalism or seeking to take a step up, there are two routes, which lead to the BBC, one of the world’s most creative organisations. read more
Jobcentreplus updates the Access to Work Virtual team
9th September 2008.
Jobcentreplus updates the Access to Work Virtual team read more
BBC now provides subtitles for 100% of programmes
18th August 2008.
BBC now provides subtitles for 100% of programmes on the BBC's 7 main channels covering BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC, Cbeebies and the BBC News channel. read more
RADAR People of the Year Awards
21st July 2008.
The RADAR People of the Year Awards are the largest and most prestigious of their kind in Europe, and provide an excellent opportunity to recognise the work of those who have made great contributions to the Human Rights and Inclusion of disabled people. read more
New TV Opportunities for Disabled Talent
17th July 2008.
Channel 4 and FIVE schemes give talented disabled individuals an opportunity to gain meaningful paid experience and staff become more disability confident through structured training and support read more
ATW - New Virtual Team for the Broadcasting & Creative Industries
17th July 2008.
Jobcentre Plus has appointed ten advisors who will make up their virtual centre of excellence for the broadcasting and creative industries read more
Skillset holds successful Diversity Workshop
4th June 2008.
Skillset recently held a successful Diversity Workshop for all of its Screen Academies and the Skillset Film Business. read more
Jobcentre Plus changes benefit broadcasting and film industry
1st June 2008.
Jobcentre Plus has agreed to changes in Access to Work funding which should make it easier for disabled people to work in the broadcasting and film industry. read more
ITV's Enabling Talent scheme comes to life
30th April 2008.
TV's Enabling Talent scheme came to life on the 1st of May with the successful trainees starting a 6 month paid placement across various roles. read more