Reader TTS

Older actors will disappear from the nation’s screens unless the UK government’s film and television Covid-19 restart scheme lifts a ban on employing people over 70, industry experts have

warned. The Production Insurance Restart Scheme offers compensation for production companies that make insurance claims during the pandemic. An exception is in respect of “cast losses”,

where the relevant cast member was over 70 when losses were incurred. Ann Louise Ross, 70, who has appeared in films including Trainspotting and the remake of Whisky Galore!, was recently

told that she had won a part in a prestigious network drama series, pending contract details. “But my agent called the next day to tell me it was off, because of my age,” she said. “It was

ten weeks’ work and a really fulfilling part. It just feels so unfair that I can’t take it.” Dundee-based Ross, who is a founder member of the ensemble at Dundee Rep Theatre and appeared

last year at London’s National Theatre in David Hare’s Peter Gynt, said it was important that older people were not written out of film and TV storylines. Advertisement “We have fought hard

to make sure that women of a certain age are represented on screen as viable walking, talking, thinking beings, and this threatens to put us right back in the shadows,” she said. Equity, the

actors’ union, has started a petition of members calling on the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to reconsider the insurance age cap. Maureen Beattie, the union’s president,

said the rules made it almost impossible to obtain cover for older cast members. The union said it was receiving wider anecdotal reports of age discrimination against actors over 60, with

Covid-related insurance costs cited as the reason. About 20 per cent of Equity’s members — 10,000 actors — are over the age of 60. It is understood that the DCMS is considering the

possibility of allowing bespoke Covid insurance relief coverage for older actors in recognition of their important role. Ms Beattie said the disparity between older and younger actors was

“grossly unfair”. Advertisement She added: “We are also hearing of older actors losing out on the commercials that are the bread-and-butter for so many.” Age Scotland said age caps on

insurance policies for older people were “arbitrary and ageist”. Sir Tony Robinson, the actor and presenter, is supporting the union’s petition. He said: “It is of course vital that all

workplaces should be Covid-proofed and safe for every employee. But this shouldn’t mean older people are denied access to them.”