“I had a career for 17 years and what am I doing now? What’s happened to my life? I had something that I was so proud of and the thing that I love doesn’t love me.”

Stef Loughrey is a producer who has worked on some of the UK’s biggest television programmes. But in 2023 the steady stream of work she had relied on suddenly disappeared.

The Guardian’s media editor, Michael Savage, tells Helen Pidd that Loughrey is not alone: about 70% of freelancers within the television industry are believed to be out of work, affecting everything from gameshows to dramas, from the most experienced to those at the start of their careers.

Savage puts the shift down to a perfect storm of factors, including the crash that followed the post-Covid boom and more structural issues, such as the rise of streamers and shifting viewing habits. The severe decline in British productions may affect the kind of programming that viewers will see, and create a situation where only those with the deepest pockets can work in the industry.

Savage explains that while some are calling for greater governmental support or increased risk-taking on the part of commissioners, others are hoping to make use of their skills in other sectors.