“THIS IS WHAT INVISIBILITY LOOKS LIKE”

A Statement from Rising Waves on ESEA Representation in UK Television

In response to the Diamond Report (The Seven Point Five Cut)

June 2025

British East and South East Asian (ESEA) communities are missing from UK television, and now we have the data to prove it.

The Creative Diversity Network’s Diamond Report, The Seven Point Five Cut, paints a stark picture. For the first time, East and South East Asian creatives have been counted as distinct groups. The results reveal more than underrepresentation. They show near-total exclusion.

Key Findings

East Asians make up just 0.8% on-screen, 0.5% off-screen, and 0.1% in senior roles, despite being 1.2% of the UK population.
South East Asians are almost entirely absent, with 0.2% on-screen, 0.1% off-screen, and 0% in senior roles, despite making up 0.7% of the population.
Not a single South East Asian individual held a senior creative role across all broadcaster data.

These numbers are not only low. They are getting worse.

In the Diamond report, The Seventh Cut (published September 2024), East Asian creatives were slightly more visible:

On-screen: 1.5% in 2024 compared to 0.8% in 2025
Off-screen: 0.6% compared to 0.5%
Senior roles: 0.3% compared to 0.1%

Even with improved data collection, representation has declined. Visibility is shrinking. Progress is reversing.

This is not a pipeline problem. It is not a talent gap. It is about who gets seen, who gets supported, who gets the jobs, and who receives investment. The system is functioning as it was built to, and it is shutting us out.

Other marginalised communities are beginning to see change, supported by long-term, targeted industry efforts. But ESEA creatives continue to be overlooked. There is no national strategy, no dedicated funding stream, and no meaningful commissioning focus for our communities.

This is unacceptable. It must change.

Audiences are already demonstrating the value of our stories; the viewing figures, awards and box office reports prove this. The global success of series like Beef, Pachinko, and Shogun, and films like Past Lives and Everything Everywhere All at Once, shows there is strong demand for complex, culturally specific, Asian-led narratives. These are not niche titles. They are award-winning, widely watched, and emotionally resonant. NONE of which are British-made. If the UK fails to act, it risks falling even further behind. As well as failing to serve and capture a huge market, that US counterparts are already recognising and investing in.

At Rising Waves, we are not waiting.

We run one of the few mentorship programmes in the UK focused on British East and South East Asian creatives. We support early-career talent and, launching soon, mid-career professionals who are trying to stay in an industry that too often pushes them out, let alone develop into future leaders.

But we cannot fix a systemic problem alone.

Good intentions are not enough. Not for us, and not for any marginalised community. We need action that is focused, long-term, and accountable. If you say you care about change, this is your chance to prove it.

We want to work with you. But we need more than good intentions. We need:

Targeted investment in ESEA talent development and progression
Ringfenced funding and commissioning for ESEA-led work
Representation at senior and decision-making levels
Partnerships that place power and resources in the hands of our communities

The talent is here. The audiences are ready. The stories already exist. The UK industry must now make space for us- not only on screen, but behind the scenes, in writers’ rooms, in commissioning conversations, and in leadership.

Diversity cannot be selective. Inclusion cannot be partial. Change cannot wait.

Rising Waves