YAFTA

One very energetic man, one workshop, 50 different facial expressions. Last night we had the force that is Ian Puleston-Davies in to deliver a workshop to our students. He really goes the extra mile to draw the performance out of each person and pushes people out of their comfort zone in a way that is non-confrontational, it’s a masterclass just watching him teach.

We are beyond excited to be hosting the UK’s first ever Duty of Care in TV Production Course (for mental health and psychological professionals and trainees), launching in April 2026, led by the award winning

This Duty of Care in TV Productions course is designed specifically for mental health professionals (MHPs) and those training as mental health professionals, who want to make a difference in the television industry.

This unique one-year diploma, led by renowned psychologist and psychotherapist Dr Charlotte Armitage, is now open for applications at YAFTA.

Why This Course?

The television industry is fast-paced and comes with its own set of challenges and risks for both contributors and professionals. YAFTA’s new programme bridges the gap, providing specialist training for MHPs to confidently and safely support TV productions. You’ll learn directly from clinicians and industry experts with real-world experience working on high-profile productions such as Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, Celebrity Big Brother, Ex on the Beach, Celebs Go Dating, true crime production, podcast and journalism.

Our guest lecturers are listed on the website and include TV Exec and Welfare Exec of Dating Naked & Blue Therapy , Casting Associate , casting and welfare exec , reality tv contributors , .sangha and Ali Bromley, BAFTA & Emmy winning documentary director Sophie Robinson and many others.

We are very lucky to have the experience and expertise of a range of industry professionals from creative directors, tv execs, casting & welfare producers, safeguarding experts and tv contributors.

If you want to be a psychologist or mental health professional in TV, this is the course for you! The next cohort commences on Friday 24th April. Register now.

To find out more or apply, please visit www.YAFTA.co.uk

psychotherapist media workinthemedia diploma education yafta

Today was headshot shoot day for some of our diploma students. We’re excited to receive the final shots. The afternoon was spent conducting and engaging in a commercial casting workshop which provided insight to the casting process from all perspectives.

Applications are open and auditions are underway for our Spotlight Accredited, 12-month YAFTA acting for screen diploma course which starts in February 2026.

For those who are based abroad or a considerable distance away, you can choose to attend your core teaching hours online. Alternatively, we have our classroom based course for those who wish to attend in person. Our course has been designed to fit around career, education and family commitments and is perfect for those who require a flexible and alternative approach to actor training which supports them in becoming professional screen actors.

If you would like to be considered for the next intake of the YAFTA Acting for Screen Diploma course please apply here: https://www.yafta.co.uk/acting-for-screen-diploma/

The YAFTA Acting for Screen Diploma includes:

🎬 12-month intensive course
🎬 Spotlight accredited
🎬 Finance available for up to 7 years (subject to eligibility)
🎬 RTS student membership
🎬 Equity student membership
🎬 1/3 off Spotlight fees for YAFTA diploma graduates for your first year
🎬 Become a ready to work actor in 12 months
🎬 Opportunity to apply for representation at our award-winning PMA talent agency upon course completion

If you have any questions regarding the programme please email [email protected]

We’ve had such a lovely afternoon celebrating with the team. We’ve always been so lucky at YAFTA to work with so many amazing and decent people which means that every get together brilliant. Next year there are many exciting courses planned to support those wanting to become professional screen actors and those who want to work in duty of care in TV.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and look forward to seeing you at YAFTA next year.

We have such a brilliant line up of guest lecturers on our ‘Duty of Care in TV Production’ course. Over the coming weeks we will be introducing our favour guest lecturers.

Sophie Robinson is a BAFTA & Emmy winning director. She has recently been nominated for another BAFTA for her documentary ‘Accused: The Fake Grooming Scandal.’

Speaking about the course, Sophie said:

“As a documentary director, I think this course is a brilliant idea. The relationship between filmmakers and mental health professionals is still developing, and there’s a real need for greater understanding on both sides. Having MHPs who appreciate the pressures, ethics, and emotional demands of documentary production can make a real difference to how we support contributors and crews. This feels like an important step in bridging the gap between psychology and media in a practical, collaborative way.”

About Sophie:

Sophie Robinson is a highly talented, BAFTA and EMMY-winning director who has made groundbreaking productions which include My Beautiful Broken Brain and Surgeons Cut: Living Donor for Netflix and My Dead Body and Accused: The Fake Grooming Scandal for Channel 4. Sophie has extensive experience working with vulnerable contributors and will be sharing her expertise on the psychological support required in making these kinds of productions, as well as the risks and responsibilities involved in producing documentaries of this nature.

If you want to work as a mental health professional in TV Production please visit: www.yafta.co.uk to apply or email [email protected] with any questions you may have.

Some pictures from our teens class in Leeds! There are still spaces available - email [email protected] or visit our website to get yours!

A message from our teacher:

Being a teacher for the teen classes at has been an absolute joy. Watching all the students grow not just in skill, but in emotional depth - has been incredible. They approach every new script with such enthusiasm, courage and power, and it is reflected in the work they create. But the best part is the environment that the students have built together: fun, safe, supportive, and full of energy. It’s amazing to be a part of and I couldn’t be prouder!

We have a phenomenal line up of guest lecturers for the Duty of Care in TV Productions course and we’ll be introducing them all over the coming weeks.

Introducing: Lisa Chapman.

Lisa was the Executive Welfare Consultant for Dating Naked UK and Blue Therapy on Netflix. Both of these show bring unique challenges in terms of duty of care. I consulted on the casting protocols for Dating Naked UK, as you can imagine, trying to establish at which point during the casting process it is ethical or appropriate to ask a contributor to appear naked on a screen took some consideration. A production such as Dating Naked is high risk; the contributor is away from home, in a constructed reality, the exposure of MTV is an international audience, and they were naked.

Lisa is the managing director of HoneyBird Studios. Prior to Honeybird, Lisa was Senior Vice President Non-Scripted Television at eOne UK and the Managing Director of successful independent production company Whizz Kid Entertainment. An experienced and trusted industry executive, she co-devised, launched and Executive Produced the huge international reality hit ‘Ex on the Beach’ and ‘Celebrity Ex on the Beach’ for MTV International – one of the biggest reality hits of the decade with numerous spin offs and local versions throughout the world.

Lisa will be educating our students about working in welfare on high risk productions as well as her expectations of MHP’s from the managing director and executive director perspective.

I am beyond excited to be welcoming in the October YAFTA Diploma Cohort who will graduate in 2026.

The industry has been challenging in recent years, there have been so many challenges facing actors but something feels much more positive now. We’ve offered online courses and still do but nothing will ever be better than training in person, especially because of the relationships you build with the people you work with, so it was a real delight to welcome this classroom based diploma group this morning 😊.

I’m excited to see these new students progress into professional screen actors with the support of our very talented teaching team.

We love this beautiful message from . At YAFTA we try to create an environment and programme that gives students a lifelong, memorable, positive experience that supports them to move forward in pursuing their acting careers. Most of our groups remain good friends long after the training, and it’s these elements of the course which we love love love!

We hope to see all of you soon xx

We are very excited to be offering a summer camp programme for children and young people aged 8 years and over at Ackworth Independent School .

The camp is open to anyone who wants to learn to act or work on improving their acting, performance and public speaking skills.

This camp will give aspiring actors the opportunity to spend a week intensively focused on developing their acting skills with an award winning screen acting academy.

Sessions run from 9:30am to 4pm Monday to Friday.

If you would like to find out more or book a place please visit : https://www.yafta.co.uk/summer-camp/ or email [email protected]