The Stage

Industry figures unite for more ‘female-driven’ drama

Published Tuesday 17 February 2009 at 14:50 by Matthew Hemley

Playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker, producer Jenny Topper and actor Imelda Staunton have all thrown their weight behind a petition calling on Channel 4, ITV and the BBC to improve the representation of women in TV drama.

The industry figures have joined around 1,000 people who have so far signed the petition, launched by Equity last week, which claims that for every female character in a TV drama there are two male characters.

It also says that leading parts are “frequently played by male actors over 45”, but argues that women in this age group “start to disappear from our screens”, and calls on the major UK television channels to “take action to correct this imbalance”.

Staunton was joined in signing the document by fellow actors Maxine Peake, Roger Lloyd Pack, Harriet Walter and Charles Dance.

Peake, who most recently appeared in the BBC drama Little Dorrit, said she agreed “whole heartedly” with the petition and added she would like to see more “female-driven dramas”.

Lloyd Pack, best known for playing Trigger in Only Fools and Horses, said he had supported it “in the interest of equal rights” and added: “On a practical level, I’m aware of how difficult it is for my female colleagues to find work and on a cultural one, I don’t understand why a whole generation of women should be excluded from story lines as if they don’t exist. What I hope would be the result of this petition is that writers would be encouraged to include more older female characters in their scripts.”

The petition was created by a new steering group within Equity, dedicated to highlighting the issues regarding female performers.

It includes Equity vice-president Jean Rogers and actress Kate Buffery, who, with other members of the group, took the cast lists of all dramas shown by the major terrestrial channels over a week and found that of 4,565 roles, 2,899 went to men and 1,666 to women.

Buffery, 51, admitted it would be “difficult to shift the status quo” but added: “This petition is saying to broadcasters over 50% of your viewers are women and there is a big voice out there, and that’s what we are trying to tap into. The fact most TV is aimed largely at young male viewers is not okay, and it says something rather shallow about our society.”

She said that most TV dramas feature young, “nicely-packaged” female performers and claimed more interesting parts for younger women would lead to older women being taken more seriously.

The petition follows a Europe-wide survey conducted by the International Federation of Actors, which found that female performers have shorter careers than male ones and that 60% of women do not feel TV represents them in a realistic way.

Buffery said that although the petition is specifically about television, she hoped it would pave the way to open up discussions about other areas of the performing arts.

Responding, an ITV spokesman said the broadcaster’s shows, including soaps and dramas such as Marple with Julia McKenzie, “reflect a diverse range of our society and portray women of all ages”.

At the time of going to press, the BBC and Channel 4 were unavailable for comment.

Maxine Peake

“I agree whole-heartedly. I want to see more female-driven dramas and ones about people who have lived.”

Roger Lloyd Pack

“I’d like to see more dramas that engage with the lives of older people in a central way and not as an appendage to the main drama.”

Harriet Walter

“I’m very lucky because I do keep working, but I am also a member of an audience and an older woman, and I do get very discouraged by the portrayal of women - or the absence of women in dramas at all.”

David Soul

“How can you have one without the other? We are equal. However, the networks and producers look at viewer statistics. More women watch than men so they take the obvious course.”

Charles Dance

“We have wonderful writers in London and I want them to think about parts for women, especially women of a certain age.”