Spotlight feature: Coordinating Access, Intimacy and Wellbeing

In September, we hosted an industry event to spotlight the crucial roles of access, intimacy and wellbeing coordinators in film and TV production. Sets are high-pressure environments, often where complex challenges can arise, requiring the expertise of trained professionals to ensure the safety, inclusivity and wellbeing of cast and crew. These emerging roles have become essential in navigating these in a supportive, collaborative space. Across three panels, one message was clear: these coordinators are essential and interconnected, contributing significantly to the success of and enhancing and enriching our production environments. Editor and journalist Jennifer McShane was there and shares her key takeaways.

In her opening address, Sara Putt, chair of BAFTA, explained how much of the charity’s work revolves around how we can help develop a better industry, both creatively and in terms of best practice, be it hiring experts or grappling with how to integrate them into projects.

Since creating a Disability Advisory Group in 2020, chaired by ITV’s creative diversity partner, Sam Tatlow, BAFTA has been working to lead a cultural shift, embracing accessibility and inclusion for the deaf, disabled and neurodivergent (DDN) community and other underrepresented groups at the heart of its projects and initiatives. This includes making its headquarters at 195 Piccadilly more accessible than ever and increasing access and representation at its awards. As of last year, just over 7% of BAFTA members consider themselves to have a disability.

After setting the stage for the importance of these roles, the event’s first panel discussed the importance of access coordinators, who ensure that all aspects of production are accessible for DDN talent. This role has become increasingly vital in addressing underrepresentation within the creative industries with more than one in five people being DDN in the UK.

Led by actor, author and broadcaster Samantha Baines, the panel (Bethany Matthews, access coordinator for drama at ITV Studios, Julie Clark, head of production for ITV Studios, and Julie Fernandez, actor, access coordinator and agent for access coordinators) unpacked the transformative impact of this role on production environments.

“An access coordinator should be someone with lived experience of disability or neurodivergence,” Julie Fernandez explains. “Their job is to work with all cast, crew, and production team members to make the set accessible.”

Bethany Matthews, overseeing access coordination across multiple drama productions at ITV as the broadcaster’s in-house access coordinator, spoke about the beginnings of her role, which stemmed from acclaimed screenwriter Jack Thorne’s impassioned MacTaggart lecture in which he said, “TV has failed disabled people.” From there, the TV Access Project (TAP) was formed, an alliance of the UK’s biggest broadcasters and streamers who have pledged to collaborate to create a substantive and permanent structural shift ensuring access provision for DDN talent.

Access coordinators don’t just focus on physical needs – they address a wide spectrum of requirements, including sensory support and emotional wellbeing. Matthews shared examples, such as providing tools like noise-cancelling headphones or fidget toys to help neurodivergent team members.

“After the lecture, ITV decided to make a commitment to have an access coordinator on every single show, and that’s what we did. The role has become about caring for individuals on a one-on-one basis, and offering advice outside of the production, giving them sustainable tools that they can take forward in their career.”

Fernandez emphasised the importance of having someone from the DDN community as access coordinator, saying, “We, as the DDN community, have the lived experience. We understand the nuance and the language. We have the confidence to talk about disability to our fellow disabled, creative people in a way others might not.” She noted that having DDN professionals in these roles fosters trust, making it easier for crew and cast to disclose their requirements. “The burden of disclosure shouldn’t be on the individual DDN person. It should be on production to help them feel safe so they can disclose. We want people to be creatively brilliant, and they can do that if they have their access requirements met.”

Victoria Stickland, production executive at the BBC, added that her work on Silent Witness – an access-first production – has benefited enormously from close collaboration with access coordinators. “Julie [Fernandez] helped us across every department, ensuring that whether it was set design or DDN storylines. This was invaluable, and it meant we were having conversations that we were probably frightened to have initially.”

While everyone acknowledged the progress, they agreed there’s still room to grow and much to do. Matthews agreed it also starts with educating production teams, ensuring they are engaging in these conversations themselves, and making sure their productions are a safe space for people to be in. Training across production is also important. “We are doing better, even though there is a long way to go,” Stickland adds.

“In five or 10 years, I hope the role of access coordinator won’t be needed because accessibility will be woven into every aspect of production. It’ll be the norm, not the exception,” says Fernandez.

Safeguarding multifaceted moments of intimacy on set

The next panel shifted to another critical role on set: intimacy coordinator. It explored the importance of safeguarding actors during intimate scenes while ensuring respectful and accurate portrayals on screen. It featured experienced intimacy coordinator Adelaide Waldrop alongside director Joelle Mae David and actor Dionne Brown, who all worked together on the TV series Queenie.

Adelaide Waldrop, who has worked on numerous projects in TV and film, including Mary & George and the BAFTA-winning Aftersun, emphasised that intimacy coordination is not limited to sex scenes but spans a wide range of personal, physical interactions, including familial embraces, childbirth scenes, and medical examinations.

“The role of an intimacy coordinator is multifaceted,” Waldrop explains. “We choreograph intimate action as movement professionals so it looks convincing, helps establish boundaries, and ensures informed consent is at the forefront. We’re there to protect everyone, from actors to crew members, and to ensure that intimate moments on screen are portrayed accurately, respectfully, and safely. It’s certainly not always romantic scenes, but also creative consultation and collaboration, making sure everyone is cared for, depending on the nature of the performance and what’s involved.”

Waldrop and Joelle Mae David, who directed the first four episodes of Queenie, discussed their work on the series, where they collaborated on a sensitive scene involving a gynaecological examination. David explained the importance of early involvement and rehearsal as Waldrop emphasised the need to be brought onto a project, ideally at greenlight or casting stage: “We knew this scene would require precision and care. Adelaide and I worked closely to ensure every shot was planned to protect everyone on set.”

Dionne Brown, star of and lead actor in Queenie, reflects on her experience working with an intimacy coordinator for the first time. “At drama school, we never had training on advocating for ourselves in intimate scenes – I didn’t know what to expect. I’m so fortunate to be held so closely on that set by all the men and women and production involved. And it was still a comfort to know that if something went wrong, my first point of reference would be Adelaide so she could communicate it to Joelle.”

When asked about the financial implications of hiring intimacy coordinators, Waldrop explains that the long-term benefits are something productions need to consider as equally as budgeting. “We are specialist consultants on a day rate but help prevent problems before they escalate, which saves production time, money and some of the time, emotional trauma. It’s much more efficient to plan things properly from the start.”

Looking ahead, Waldrop mentions BECTU is developing a registry for trained intimacy coordinators to ensure productions hire qualified professionals. “This is a health and safety role, so it’s crucial that coordinators are properly trained. And if you haven’t undertaken intimacy-specific training, there are certain circumstances where people are hiring intimacy coordinators who aren’t trained, and that can often do damage to the role’s reputation in the industry.”

As the role becomes more integrated into productions, Waldrop and David agree it’s about changing the culture. “Intimacy coordinators help us create environments where actors can give their best performances,” says David.

Changing the culture of wellbeing in production

The final panel broadened the conversation to consider the overall mental health and wellbeing of cast and crew. The Film and TV Charity’s 2024 Looking Glass Survey, the industry’s largest dataset on the subject, found 35% of over 4,300 production respondents reported a decline in their mental health, describing theirs as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’, up from 24% in 2022. Only 12% thought the industry was in a healthy place in this regard. As such, the role of wellbeing coordinators has emerged as essential in fostering healthy, sustainable working environments in what is often a high-pressure industry.

“Wellbeing is not one-size-fits-all,” says Michelle White, co-director of 6ft From The Spotlight. “Each production is unique,” she explains, highlighting the importance of mental health across the board in production. “We’ve had evidence for decades on the importance of mental health,” she notes. “From a global wellbeing perspective, for every pound spent on wellbeing, the return is six pounds. It’s about high levels of engagement, reducing presenteeism, and boosting creativity. It’s just so important that we think about wellbeing from the very start.”

The conversation turned to wellbeing facilitator Mo Jannah, who explained the role of a wellbeing producer. “At the heart of it, it’s about people, production and championing stories,” he shares, reflecting on his previous work in social services and various other roles. “The sign of a healthy TV society is how we treat our staff members.”

The panel touched on practical tools, such as a wellbeing audit and mental health risk assessment, with White explaining how it maps welfare risks across the lifespan of production. “It helps us understand not just schedules but the culture, risks and roles within a team, enabling us to design better support systems,” she explains. So, from the start, the production is designed with mental health and welfare in mind, looking at what conditions cast and crew are working in, what risks might come up and how to mitigate them.

Sophie Freeman emphasised the accessibility of the Film and TV Charity’s Whole Picture Toolkit, an engagement producer for the resource. “It’s all about changing the culture and supporting wellbeing at every production stage,” she said. “Even if there’s no budget, there are tangible actions productions can take, like our ‘Working Well With Me’ document, which encourages crew members to share their personal wellbeing needs.”

“On season two of Gangs of London, we saw firsthand how introducing a wellbeing coordinator boosted morale,” adds Bianca Gavin, head of production for scripted at Pulse Films. “It’s about more than just handling crises – it’s about having someone impartial that the production company backs to provide a level of time, care and expertise.”

BBC Studios has 10 TV shows continually in production, all year round. It’s a fast, frantic and challenging pace, and Deborah Sathe, creative director for drama at BBC Studios, emphasises that leadership through kindness to make effective change helps production run smoothly. Executives must take ‘The Pledge’ when the executive producer promises, in front of cast and crew, to look after that production. They also engage in multilevel health and wellbeing training. “Unless our staff and freelancers feel confident and inspired, they can’t do their best work. We don’t always get it right. But we’re really keen to listen, and we try to make ourselves as accessible as possible. Work should be a space of safety, and the more you invest in that early, the happier and more economical your production will be.”

Find out more about the three coordinator roles: