Pan-industry group Coalition for Change, which fights for better working conditions for the UK TV freelance community, has unveiled a trio of committee members.
Alongside chair and founder Adeel Amini, executive producer Michelle Woods, series producer/series editor Dominic Pisani and development executive Chiara Bellati will work towards executing the Coalition’s overall aims, while relaunching and embedding its Freelance Charter. The members will also serve on the committee of Amini’s freelancer mental health group, The TV Mindset, which was behind a viral anti-ghosting campaign last year. Between them, the trio have worked on British hits including The Crown, Pointless and Big Brother.
The Coalition for Change was founded in 2020 by Amini, who was a freelance producer at the time. The Coalition aims to improve working conditions for freelancers in the UK TV industry and launched the Freelance Charter to lay out collective responsibility. Public broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky and UKTV have committed to taking part in regular discussions.
The Coalition is scheduling a meeting in the coming months to bring together broadcasters and find meaningful routes through the current issues faced by freelancers, including the forging of freelancer hubs. Around two-thirds of freelancers are currently out of work, according to the latest research from broadcasting union Bectu.
“I’m thrilled to have Michelle, Dom and Chiara on board to help with Coalition for Change,” said Amini. “All three have proven to be hugely influential not just in their careers but in the campaign space, and are immensely passionate about making some lasting change in the industry. Their appointment will also ensure that the Coalition continues to flourish, and that as a collective we can continue to do our utmost to help the workforce.”
Woods is a BAFTA-nominated executive producer with more than 25 years of experience. She has worked across a range of genres but is best known for entertainment shows including Pointless and Pointless Celebrities, The Million Pound Drop and BAFTA-nominated Moneybags. Bellati has had more than two decades of cross-genre experience as an executive producer and development executive, working on The Crown, My Policeman and Magic Mike 3. Pisani’s credits include Dinner Date, TOWIE, The Voice UK and Big Brother. He is the founder of SP and exec community SPEX UK, which has close to 400 members across the UK, and also created the #OffAirNightmare social media campaign highlighting the ongoing crisis for freelancers in production.
Amini said the Coalition is committed to “continuing to develop a kitemark for healthy productions, trying to navigate a way through the crisis & ensure freelancer conditions remain as healthy as possible on the other side.”