ITV Studios Joins TV Access Project, Hires Access Coordinator

ITV Studios has become an associate member of the TV Access Project (TAP) and appointed Bethany Matthews as its first in-house access coordinator.

Matthews’ appointment will ensure that access requirements for deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent people and anyone with long-term health conditions are met. She will report to Julie Clark, director of drama production at ITV Studios, and Sam Tatlow, creative diversity partner, to make sure solutions are in place that remove any barriers to accessibility requirements. This includes ensuring all production teams, crew and cast complete accessibility training, reviewing the accessibility of production sites and working with postproduction teams to ensure editing facilities are accessible.

Matthews was one of the first 12 access coordinators to be trained in the U.K. by ScreenSkills and Bridge06.

By joining TAP, ITV Studios commits to meeting guidelines for disability inclusion, covering the 5 As: anticipating, asking, assessing, adjusting and advocating. ITV Studios will work across the industry to consider issues such as funding models for access and reasonable adjustments, the rollout of access coordinators and the retention and progression of disabled talent into senior roles.

“We’re really proud to support the TV Access Project and to be an active part of tangible change,” Clark said. “The underrepresentation of disabled people in our industry continues to be an urgent issue and something we’re working on at ITV Studios. Bethany is an incredible addition to the team and will be key in finding solutions to removing barriers so that anyone who works with us can do their best work.”

Matthews added, “I’m so excited to join ITV Studios and be a part of creating change in our industry. 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 postproduction more accessible to talent, we’ll really start to see talent that the industry has been missing.”

“The success of the TV Access Project depends on the collaboration between big industry players and disabled creatives working on the ground in production,” commented Tanya Motie, co-project lead for TV Access Project. “Having been working alongside committed creatives from ITV Studios on several TAP workstreams throughout the year, we are delighted that ITV Studios has now become a TAP associate member to help the drive toward our goal of full inclusion by 2030.”