Culture

The old adage “it’s who you know not what you know” has always applied to the creative industries and despite attempts to change the image of a sector dominated by nepotism, and run by the upper middle class, this programme can reveal that less than 10% of film and TV workers are from working class backgrounds, the lowest in a decade. 

The hit TV series Bridgerton, set in high society Regency London, broke new ground when it cast ethnic minority actors in aristocratic roles. It’s now back with a third season, which turns its focus to a love story that’s been brewing since the show began. Starring the Irish actress Nicola Coughlan, who shot to fame…

The Eurovision Song Contest has long brought a chaotic energy through its over-the-top performances. But the drama in this year’s competition is as much behind the scenes as it is on stage. Recent days have seen protests over Israel’s participation and a police investigation of a contestant. Today brought an expulsion and an unexplained absence.

One director with personal experience, Milad Alami, has made a new dramatic thriller detailing the story of an Iranian man and his family as they sought refuge in northern Sweden. 

Sculptor Leilah Babirye began her art as a form of activism back home in Uganda, where being gay is a crime.

Author Armistead Maupin is a pioneer – writing about AIDS and HIV for a mass audience and daring to include gay, lesbian, trans and queer lives when few others were. His ‘Tales of the City’ series, which started as a newspaper column in 1974, became worldwide best-selling novels and a Netflix series. It chronicles the…

It was supposed to counter the many conspiracy theories about the health of the Princess of Wales, but it did the opposite. The photo of Kate Middleton and her three children, sent out yesterday, was the first to be issued since her abdominal surgery – but it was withdrawn by international picture agencies hours later…

Musicians in the Afghan Youth Orchestra have said it is a “fantastic experience” to play in the UK after initially being denied visas to enter the country. The Home Office had refused the orchestra entry but after a public backlash reversed the decision. The musicians fled Afghanistan after the return of the Taliban, and currently…

The Brit award-winning musician Tom Odell’s best known song Another Love has racked up more than a billion streams – and formed the soundtrack to countless social media videos, including many about Russia’s war in Ukraine. Now the British singer songwriter’s released his new album – Black Friday.

The first ever biopic of Bob Marley will finally hit cinema screens later next month.

“We’re the conscience of the art world.”

Behind every worker in a convenience store is a “life full of dignity, joy and dreams”.

Middlesbrough is the UK’s first member of the Inclusive Recovery Cities programme

Scottish Ballet audiences are being kept on their toes this Christmas by a groundbreaking new version of Cinderella.

From the Olympics to the big screen, former Team GB volleyball player Savanah Leaf has won critical acclaim for her first feature film at Sundance – and this week she also picked up ‘best debut director’ at the British Independent Film Awards.