The Mark Milsome Foundation works to improve safety issues in film and TV production, a sector powered largely by freelancers

The Mark Milsome Foundation (MMF) has added a new member to its advisory council while welcoming a proposed, safety-related amendment to the current Employment Bill.

Francesca Zerenghi, an entertainment publicist specialising in representing cinematographers and creative companies across the screen industry, is the latest to join the council, that was established in September 2024.

MMF chair, Samantha Wainstein, said: “We are delighted that Francesca has joined the Advisory Council. Her broad skillset and deep industry knowledge will be an invaluable asset as we continue to grow and develop the Foundation’s work.”

Camera operator Milsome was killed while filming a car stunt on the drama Black Earth Rising, in Ghana in in 2017, while filming the drama Black Earth Rising.

The Mark Milsome Foundation was launched the following year, to advocate for better health and safety practices across film and TV production – a sector largely powered by freelance crew.  

The recent House of Lords debate proposing an amendment to the current Employment Bill – specifically the appointment of an Independent Freelance Commissioner – highlighted the premise of the foundation’s mission, with Baroness Caine of Kentish Town, a British creative industries expert and life peer, raising aligned concerns about health and safety amongst freelancers.

Caine said: “Amendment 287 provides an opportunity to address a long-standing gap in protection for freelance workers. Current laws surrounding health and safety at work are often open to interpretation by those on productions who hire them, and, in some productions, a culture of minimum compliance becomes compounded by an industry that tends to self-regulate.

“I hope that the Government can find ways to protect freelancers better – if not in the Bill, then by secondary legislation or, following my specific example, by amending health and safety legislation.”

MMF welcomed the subsequent response by Lord Katz, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the department for business and trade: “It is essential that employers in the creative industries do not use – or rather, abuse – the multifarious employment statuses of those working in the sector to evade their responsibilities, particularly when it comes to health and safety. I am happy to take this back to colleagues in DBT and DCMS.”

Film crew image by Sklathill is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.