Working-class representation in the UK film and TV industries is its lowest level in a decade, with just 8.4% of creatives coming from working-class backgrounds, whilst over 60% are middle or upper-class. Nearly half of all BAFTA and British Oscar nominees in the last decade were privately educated, yet across the UK, only 5.9% of pupils attend private schools. This is one of the many issues impacting the creative sector in the UK, forming barriers to access for working-class creatives. Other hurdles include, but are not limited to, the lack of creative subjects in schools, the de-funding of the humanities in further education, the disappearance of financially accessible arts education, and people being priced out of areas of opportunity — most notably, London.

All of this leads to an issue James McAvoy has raised, addressing it as “the class ceiling.” He called out the dominance of British actors working today who are from “specifically fee-paying, private, expensive schools” such as Harrow (graduates include Benedict Cumberbatch) and Eton (Old Etonians include Eddie Redmayne, Damian Lewis, Tom Hiddleston, and Hugh Laurie). He has also spoken about the lack of working-class kids pursuing careers in the arts as symptomatic of “something wrong with our education system.” I couldn’t agree with this more. Unequal access to subjects like Film, Media Studies, and Drama has had a huge impact on children's ability to access careers in the sector, which has a direct impact on shaping the future of the industry. It prevents those who are most equipped and affected by working-class stories from telling them, and in turn, the public from accessing authentic representation.

When the majority of actors are from the same backgrounds and have attended the same schools, it also means success is more often than not reliant on people having an existing network of connections, which prevents others from alternative backgrounds from accessing the same opportunities. These privileged circles are only made smaller by the fact that many good opportunities are restricted to London, which, again, is only accessible for those with the money and support to afford extortionate rental prices and a ridiculously expensive cost of living. Furthermore, one of the most common routes into film or TV is unpaid (or very low-paid) internships that working-class people obviously cannot afford to take alongside the full-time jobs they must keep to afford to live. What’s more, these financial and social issues result in cultural barriers. Research has shown that in recent years, working-class arts students at top universities have faced bullying and harassment due to their accents and regional dialects because they are perceived as indicators of social status, which further dictates whether such individuals are "accepted as ‘one of us’ by those in their chosen industry."

Yet, despite current issues of defunding and inaccessibility, so many modern British success stories have come from diverse, working-class backgrounds and have demonstrably benefited from access to both free and subsidised education. There are countless examples: Top Boy director Myriam Raja said film development projects such as Random Acts, which also produced one of Riz Ahmed’s early films, enabled her to get her foot in the door of the industry and “sustain a career.” Daniel Kaluuya heavily relied on free and low-cost arts and youth clubs across North London, and he believes they got him his first jobs, including appearing in and writing for Skins. Riz Ahmed, who has been very outspoken about the lack of diversity in the UK industry, wouldn't have been able to access the high-quality education he had without scholarships, diversity schemes, and other forms of financial support.

All that is to say that, clearly, the British working class lacks authentic representation on screen at the moment. With this in mind, I’d like to highlight some films that are not only excellent but also, in my opinion, represent the working class and their life experiences in an authentic way, created by directors or starring actors from working-class backgrounds.

FISH TANK (2009)

Director Andrea Arnold was raised by a single mother on an Essex council estate (similar to Section 8 housing in America), and her social-realist drama Fish Tank follows young Mia (Katie Jarvis), who lives on a council estate with her single mother and younger sister. Filmed with a gritty, realistic approach and handheld camera, the film follows Mia as she spends her days getting in trouble, starting arguments, and drinking whatever booze she can find. The family is struggling, and social services is threatening to get involved. However, things start to change when Mia’s party-girl mother brings home a nice new boyfriend, played by Michael Fassbender, who immediately forms a bond with Mia.

Fish Tank is emotionally devastating. It offers an honest, unflinching portrait of the lives of working-class people on housing estates, and how these pockets of society can be forgotten and neglected. The representation of the estate is also incredibly authentic, with characters who feel so real and so lived-in that it’s like I’ve seen them across the street before. Interestingly, Jarvis was just a year older than her character when the film was shot, she also comes from an Essex council estate, and was a first-time actor in the film, all of which lends itself to her character’s authenticity and powerful presence.

BOILING POINT (2021)

If you’re a fan of the stressful intensity and frantic energy in The Bear, then you’ll love Philip Barantini’s low-budget drama Boiling Point. Starring the great Stephen Graham as an overwhelmed and overwrought Head Chef, the film follows a chaotic kitchen amid a busy night of service where everything is going wrong. The film is fast-paced and follows many threads, giving the viewer a brief glimpse into the unique emotional, mental, and financial struggles of many members of the culinary workforce. It’s also shot in one single take, which is completely seamless and deeply engaging, drawing you further and further into the nail-biting drama whilst refusing to give you a moment to breathe. The fact that I didn’t even notice this approach until halfway through the film is a testament to just how well this creative choice works. Combined with the rest of the fantastic cast and an amazing sound design that recreates the cacophonous sounds of a busy kitchen, Boiling Point is a technically brilliant and ridiculously entertaining film.

HOW TO HAVE SEX (2023)

Molly Manning Walker’s debut feature, How to Have Sex, is an incredible coming-of-age drama that follows a group of school friends on a British rite of passage: the post-exam girls’ holiday. Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce), Em (Enva Lewis), and Skye (Lara Peake) stay at a cheap hotel and hit the party strip in Crete, drinking a profuse number of fish-bowl cocktails with the goal of Tara losing her virginity at the forefront of their minds. The film navigates the intricacies of female friendship, peer pressure, and the fraught nature of consent in a world where women are discouraged from communicating their desires and thoughts. Although it can be uncomfortable, Walker thoughtfully and empathetically handles the trauma and nuances of sexual assault, utilising stark realism alongside dizzying club scenes to juxtapose the rowdy drunken nights with the sobering cold light of day. Walker has an amazing understanding of young, working-class culture, for better and for worse, demonstrated by authentic characters and relatable experiences.

THE KITCHEN (2023)

Daniel Kaluuya’s social-realist dystopian drama The Kitchen takes place in a neglected London housing estate, and it examines the worst-case scenario in terms of gentrification and the affordable housing crisis in a near-future Britain. The film highlights issues already present in the system, whilst also acting as a cautionary tale about the impact of austerity and the over-policing of disadvantaged communities. Co-directors Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares have commented that the film is influenced by their experiences of mass gentrification and their wish to represent working-class black British culture on screen. Despite the building tension and volatile situation the protagonists are in, I love that the film also pays attention to the budding relationship between Izi (Kane Robinson) and Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman), who each give compelling performances that act as the heart of the film, drawing attention to the power of community. Much like many close-knit communities that exist in working-class Britain today, The Kitchen represents solidarity, humanity, and compassion. Plus, the world-building is fantastic, with a distinctive setting that juxtaposes against the expensive new builds just beyond the estate.