Secret diary of TV freelancer Brutal hours, fear, panic - and finally a kick in the teeth

An anonymous producer writes about their experiences of the brutal hours, low budgets and high stress of television production

- An anonymous producer

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I have chest pains. If I die, these are the stats: I have worked 16 days in a row and worked every waking minute for 18 hours of every day. Sue the f*** out of the BBC."

These are the words I text to my partner, while taking yet another deep breath, trying not to panic, attempting to remain focused on the job in hand - leading a large cast and crew shooting a new BBC series for a leading independent production company.

The irony that my role as a senior member of the production team includes a drummed-in responsibility for the duty of care of cast and crew is not lost on me.

We have to - quite rightly - work around strict working hours for minors among the cast. The crew manning heavy equipment - quite rightly - need regular breaks. The big-name presenter has - quite cleverly - had working hour conditions attached to their bumper contract.

But the rest of us: freelance producers, researchers, production managers, production coordinators, well the buck stops in, the show doesn't get made. We can't just clock off. We ignore all health and safety responsibilities when it comes to ourselves. And we don't get paid overtime. It's just the way it's always been.