Most of us who work in the film and TV industry like to think that we’re a pretty liberal bunch; we don’t subscribe to racism nor homophobia, so it’s curious to think that we still have so much gender and age bias in our industry.

How old was Angelina Jolie when she was cast as the mother of Colin Farrell (27) in Alexander? 28. What age was Hope Davis when she was asked to play Johnny Depp’s mother? The same age as him.

Sandi Toksvig points out the age disparity in TV presenting pairs such as Bruce Forsyth (81) and Tess Daly (38) on BBC 1’s Strictly Come Dancing, and Jeff Stelling (53) and Rachel Riley (23) on Channel 4’s Countdown. (Broadcastnow.co.uk, 27.10.09)

Sadly, these examples are only the tip of the alpha male fantasy iceberg. Every day there are articles in the press about female ageism on TV: Selena Scott’s out-of-court settlement and apology from Five; viewers starting an on-line petition over Arlene Phillips and Strictly. Anna Ford, Angela Rippon, Moira Stuart, Kate Adie and Joan Bakewell have all spoken out about it.

Given that there are a million more women than men in the UK (31 million women: 29.9 million men), and that half the female population is over 40, it is interesting to read the findings of the International Federation of Actors’ recent report. In TV drama, for every female character there are two male characters - (35.3% female roles to 63.5% male roles). While leading parts are frequently played by male actors over 45, women in this age group start to disappear from our screens.

Equity is working to change this situation. To support their campaign log onto www.gopetition. com/online/24658.html. Meanwhile, let’s have a competition to cast some TV presenting pairs where gender ageism is reversed… Women in Film & TV will give a bottle of champagne to the winning entry!

Kate Kinninmont, chief executive, Women in Film & TV (UK)