How Intimacy Coordination Is Changing Life on UK TV Sets

Research by Prof Tanya Horeck and Dr Susan Berridge is exploring the role of the intimacy coordinator in the UK's television industry.

Working in television can be demanding. Long hours, tight deadlines and uneven power dynamics are part of everyday production – and intimate scenes have often been where these pressures are felt most strongly. In recent years, these long standing issues have become harder to overlook, particularly following the #MeToo movement and the Covid 19 pandemic.

ARU’s Professor of Film and Feminist Media Studies, Tanya Horeck and Dr Susan Berridge, Senior Lecturer in Film and Media at the University of Stirling, carried out a research project to explore one of the most important changes now taking place in the UK television industry: the growing role of intimacy coordinators, and what their work reveals about safer, more respectful ways of making television.

Intimacy coordinators work on productions that include intimate scenes, such as simulated sex, nudity or sexual violence. Their role is to make sure these moments are planned clearly and handled with care. They support casts and crews by helping everyone understand what will happen, agree boundaries, and work through scenes safely – rather than leaving performers to navigate intimate content on the spot.

Based on interviews with intimacy coordinators working across UK television, the project highlights why this role has become so necessary. Participants describe how, before intimacy coordination became more widely established, intimate scenes were often managed informally. With little shared guidance or structure, performers – particularly women, early career actors and supporting artists – were more likely to feel exposed, pressured or unsafe.

One of the project’s key findings is that intimacy coordination goes beyond rules or compliance. It represents a wider move towards care led ways of working on set. Intimacy coordinators prioritise listening, clear communication and trust, treating consent as an ongoing conversation rather than a one off agreement. Performers are supported before filming, during the shoot and afterwards, helping to protect wellbeing while maintaining creative focus.

These approaches matter because they show how wellbeing and high quality creative work can go hand in hand. Clear communication and shared expectations reduce the risk of harm, strengthen working relationships and support more thoughtful storytelling. In this way, how television is made matters just as much as what appears on screen.

Although intimacy coordinators are often the only person in their role on set, the research highlights their strong sense of collaboration. Many see themselves as part of a wider professional community, working through unions, shared guidelines and training to raise standards across the industry. Their aim is not to police productions, but to normalise care, communication and respect as part of everyday practice.

The project also recognises the limits of relying on a single role to deliver change. Tight schedules, budget pressures and established hierarchies can make it harder to embed care led approaches fully. When intimacy coordinators are brought in late or treated as a box ticking exercise, opportunities for meaningful change can be lost.

This research matters because it makes clear that lasting improvement depends on shared responsibility. Care cannot sit with one role alone. Instead, it needs to be supported by production teams, senior decision makers and the wider industry working together.

Overall, the project shows how intimacy coordination offers a practical and hopeful model for working differently in television. By embedding consent, communication and care into everyday production, it points towards a safer, more equitable and more sustainable TV industry – and offers valuable insights for producers, broadcasters, educators and policymakers shaping its future.