Channel 4 has formed a partnership with Bristol-based TV industry recruitment firm Gritty Talent to help independent production firms meet its diversity and disability guidelines.
Gritty Talent, which was launched by former BBC producer Mel Rodrigues, will help Channel 4 transform opportunities for ethnically diverse as well as disabled talent in TV. 
The broadcaster, which opened its Bristol creative hub in 2019, said it would work with Gritty Talent as it continues to build on the success of last year’s The Black To Front Project.
The ground-breaking initiative aimed to showcase Black talent and improve representation within the TV industry.
Channel 4 said Gritty Talent would help it take it from being “just be a day of eye-catching activity” to having a real legacy.
Last month Channel 4 announced new commissioning guidelines to help build that legacy.
It has asked Gritty to define where the skills gaps and talent shortages exist for off-screen talent across the UK. It will then help to identify the suitable talent and match them with independent firms.
Channel 4 operates a unique commissioning model – its entire output is made by outside production companies, many of them small, rather than in house. A number of these independent companies are based in Bristol. 
Channel 4 director of commissioning operations Emma Hardy said: “We want to work in partnership with producers to help them achieve our new commissioning diversity guidelines.
“As part of our learnings from the Black To Front project, we will continue to challenge dated recruitment practices across our shows and put a robust framework in place to improve how ethnically diverse and other under-represented talent is identified, supported and connected to productions. Our new partnership with Gritty Talent will help achieve this.”
Channel 4 head of partnerships & skills Kevin Blacoe added: “Training and developing diverse talent, especially in the nations and regions, is a key priority for 4Skills and we look forward to supporting Gritty Talent to help identify skills gaps and talent shortages.
“Working collaboratively with Channel 4 commissioners and the indie community, we can then tailor our 4Skills plans and deliver bespoke interventions to address these gaps and make the most of the opportunities.”
Gritty Talent founder and CEO Mel Rodrigues, pictured, said: “For the last two years we’ve made it our mission at Gritty to find and connect fantastic creative talent from under-represented groups in TV, and so we are delighted to be doing this work at scale and in a really thorough way with Channel 4.
“We’ll start by collating the research that outlines where the skills gaps, roles and talent shortages are in both unscripted and scripted TV production in the UK. We’ll then use this data to ensure a large base of skilled talent from under-represented groups is visible to decision makers, so that they can recruit from a much wider pool of TV talent.”
Channel 4 worked with the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity at Birmingham City University to update its guidelines. The centre’s report on the Black to Front project concluded that the broadcaster could do more to improve relationships with black-led independent production firms.
A number of programmes piloted or revived for last September’s Black to Front Day have since secured series commissions. These include a summer run of The Big Breakfast, pictured top, and a second series of Unapologetic.
Channel 4 has also commissioned Crazy Rich…Ghanaians, fronted by comedian Eddie Kadi, who appeared on the Black to Front edition of Gogglebox.
