The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent could be forced to pay contestants if performers’ union Equity succeeds in its attempt to end “cheap exploitation” in reality shows.
The union claims that TV talent programmes are “exploiting and humiliating” contestants desperate to break into the entertainment industry by making them work without pay. The shows, meanwhile, turn large profits.
Equity wants contestants who make it to the final rounds of talent shows, including The X Factor, which begins a new season this weekend, paid and given legal status as workers and the accompanying employment rights.
The union plans to table a motion at next month’s TUC conference in an effort to close what it says is a loophole in minimum-wage legislation.
TimesonLine
