Screenwriter John Jackson: "Why is there a lack of BESEA representation within British TV?"

I’m writing this article from the EAST on Screen ITV Writers Room – a scheme to develop distinct mainstream drama ideas by four talented British East and South East Asian (BESEA) writers, set up by the network I co-founded, and supported very generously by ITV. I’m here as a cheerleader rather than a writer on this occasion, but today is just like any other writers room on the day of a big pitch: nerves, jokes, snacks.

However, the difference to all the other writers rooms I’ve been in before is that in this one, the other people kind of look like me.

I say "kind of" because most of them are a lot younger than I am. But also, of course, because BESEAs aren’t one big monolith. In this room alone we have various mixes of British-Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian, Burmese and – in my case – Filipino. We’re all very different, but we share a common understanding of how we might be seen from the outside. More pertinently, we share a common experience of how we’re represented in TV which – let’s face it – is pretty minimal both on and off screen.

I’ve been working in the industry since 2001, and in almost a quarter of a century of writing, I’ve never met another South-East Asian writer in the room before this initiative.

In fact, I can still pretty much count the number of writers of colour I’ve worked with on one hand. Some of that might be to do with the jobs I’ve had, but in the case of BESEAs, the stats back it up - the most recent Diamond Report (the industry’s diversity reporting system) states that "increases in off-screen contributions can be seen across most minority groups, with the exception of those of East Asian or East Asian British backgrounds. In general, off-screen contributions by people of Asian backgrounds are far lower than workforce estimates".

When I reflect on my career, this wasn’t something I thought about a lot at the beginning. Growing up mixed-race in the 80s and 90s, being in the minority was a given – even within my own family. I didn’t expect to fit in, and when I received notes to, for example, remove descriptions of a character’s race in script – apparently so as to not narrow down the pool of actors we could cast – it seemed to make sense. But the reality would then be that those characters would usually end up being cast with white actors – less diversity on-screen, and a sense of ‘don’t talk about it’ off-screen.

In general, it feels as if the dominant culture of the industry has been shaped largely by middle to upper-class, often white networks – and there’s a sense you need to speak that language in order to progress. I think I’m pretty good at it – after all, I was born in the UK, grew up with a strong sense of my (half-)Englishness. I couldn’t have a more British name, went to a comprehensive school in London and then, Cambridge. I can’t even speak Tagalog!

But even then, I still feel like I’ve second-guessed myself, felt inhibited, and not always been my whole authentic self at work. Making television is a team sport, but for me it’s often felt like an away game. Writing itself is a lonely process, especially in the UK where writers can often feel quite siloed from the commissioning and production process. But being in such a minority, I think, exacerbates all those feelings of imposter syndrome, insecurity and isolation that most writers feel anyway.

But specifically, why is there a lack of BESEA representation in British TV?

There’s the classic chicken-and-egg problem of a lack of role models – "can’t be it if you can’t see it". Anecdotally, there’s a sense within many of our communities that The Arts in general just aren’t a viable career path. It makes sense that immigrant communities without a secure generational foothold are wary of unstable professions without clear pathways.

But there’s no lack of creativity, talent and ambition within our communities, as evidenced by the overwhelming number of applications we have had for EAST on Screen and other initiatives. So, it’s clearly not just our problem.

Within TV, I think there’s a general issue with attracting and keeping any new talent, especially those without the capital – cultural or financial – to take the risk and hang in there. There’s also a lack of training across the board.

I’ve seen writers of colour brought in on shows to ‘consult’ on racially diverse characters or storylines to add authenticity. As one of my EAST co-founders jokingly put it: 'To be the soy sauce'. But then, they’re not compensated with a credit or offered a script. Or when they are, they end up getting fired or overwritten because the training and support hasn’t been there on a really tight schedule. They come away with their confidence dented, worried their reputation has been tainted before they’ve even really started.

It felt like things were slowly improving. People are still saying the right things, and there’s clearly an appetite amongst the commissioners – and certainly audiences – to bridge the gap and find new talent. But with fewer shows being made overall, tighter budgets discouraging risk and DEI being rolled back, there’s a fear that things are sliding backwards.

EAST started when producer JT Wong approached me during the pandemic when anti-Asian hate was surging in the UK and US. We just thought it was time to try and do something.

We want to create practical, impactful schemes like EAST on Screen with ITV, our ongoing Mentorship Programme with BBC Writers or the Table Reads commissioned by Sky – all to develop BESEA talent, get ideas in front of commissioners and producers and hopefully help our community feel a little less isolated along the way.

I can’t wait to see a BESEA writer and idea – maybe one from this very room that I'm writing from – make it all the way to the screen, and "be it so the rest of us can see it."

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