I worked in television production for more than 25 years. In that time, toxic behaviour wasn’t the exception – it was the rule. Shouting in edit suites, endless working hours, bullying dressed up as “banter,” mental health treated as weakness: this was the price of entry. Everyone knew it, everyone felt it and everyone told themselves this was simply how TV worked.
Today the language has changed. We talk about “wellbeing” “seeing the whole person” and “bringing your whole self to work”. On paper, there are policies and pledges. But for too many, the reality hasn’t shifted. The mask slips whenever a celebrity bully is exposed, and for a brief moment the industry wrings its hands. The sad truth is this isn’t about a few bad apples. The rot is systemic.
