Action for Freelancers announces Taylor-Tovey as Project Director
November 19, 2025
Action for Freelancers (AfF), the pan industry collaboration to support freelancers within the UK television sector today announces the appointment of James Taylor-Tovey as its new Project Director, with immediate effect. He will steer the next phase of the project, which aims to enhance TV freelancers’ working practices and improve conditions.
Taylor-Tovey is a freelancer, who has worked as both a Co-Executive Producer and Series Editor in Factual Entertainment, Competition and Reality formats in a career spanning more than two decades, most recently having worked on shows including Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service, Kitchen Nightmares, and Next Level Chef. Previous credits include Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Best Home Cook and Landscape Artist of the Year.
He also served as a Bectu representative and was Chair of the union’s Unscripted Branch. In advance of taking this role, he has stepped back from these positions as well as other union responsibilities relating to media work in the TV and Entertainment sector.
Taylor-Tovey said: “I’m so excited to start on the Action for Freelancers project. There’s genuine potential here to make a series of positive, practical differences to freelancers’ everyday working lives. I’ve spent the best part of two decades freelancing, so I know exactly where the pressure points are. With the industry changing rapidly, including the growing influence of AI, it’s more important than ever to build a freelance model that genuinely supports people, and I look forward to working with industry and AfF stakeholders to drive that change. And to the freelancers reading this: I promise to use my direct experiences to push this project forward. It would be easy to baulk at the scale of the task ahead, but I am not daunted. I genuinely believe this work is of equal importance to the future of the whole TV industry, as much as the freelancers who power it.”
Richard Watsham, Chair of Action for Freelancers and former Chief Creative Officer at UKTV added: “I’m delighted that James Taylor-Tovey is joining us as our new Project Director. It’s vital that AfF’s activity is led by a true freelancer and that person can promote and prioritise freelance voices. James joins us at an important time for AfF. The working groups are in full swing and are building an increasing list of actions that can help support
freelancers in these tough times. With so many people involved, from the freelancers themselves to the multitude of organisations represented from across British television, there’s a huge amount to do to make sure we can galvanise the industry and implement change as quickly as possible.”
Into 2026 Taylor-Tovey will be overseeing the launch of the Freelancer Information Hub, convening a policy workstream and overseeing the drafting of a revised Freelance Charter, as well as driving forward the previously announced commitments and initiatives from the five Working Groups.
AfF is also seeking to expand its Core Group and funding partners to ensure the project’s longevity beyond 2026 and are delighted to announce today the addition of Banijay UK.
Bella Lambourne, HR & Operations Director at Banijay UK said: “It’s important that we make our industry’s vibrant and talented freelance community as sustainable and supported as possible and we want to play our part in that journey.”
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