Can You Make a Creative Job Pay?
Money Box
BBC
4.2 • 825 Ratings
🗓️ 24 January 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The creative industries add around £124 billion to the UK economy according to government figures, but for actors, painters, or even influencers, making it pay can seem impossible.
The actor Christopher Biggins joins the programme to share how he's managed to work in the arts for more than 50 years as well as exactly what you can earn from Christmas Panto.
We'll also discuss how there's more than just booking the gig, people should also consider setting money aside to pay taxes and think about paying into a pension.
Plus we'll hear from an illustrator, content creator and a theatre group working to improve access to the arts through 'pay what you can' classes.
Felicity Hannah is joined by Jack Gamble, Director at Campaign for the Arts and Vicks Rodwell, Managing Director at The Self-Employment Association, IPSE.
Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson
(This episode was first broadcast on Saturday the 27th of December 2025)
Photo Credit: Simon Hadley
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Hello, I'm Greg Jenner, and good news, |
| 0:09.5 | Your Dead to Me, is back for a new series. |
| 0:11.6 | Here we go. |
| 0:12.1 | Yes, we'll explore Emperor Nero's notorious reign with Professor Mary Beard and Patton Oswald. |
| 0:16.9 | I would not want my daughter having the remote control, not alone an empire. |
| 0:38.6 | We'll dissect the decadent life of Philippe Duke-Dolion with Tom Allen. I've often tried to pretend I'm an aristocrat and being very quickly knocked down. And there'll be so much more with comedians like Olga Koch, Mike Wozniak and Rihelina. I'm excited. You're dead to me. The comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:42.5 | Hello, thanks for listening to this Moneybox podcast. |
| 0:44.3 | The creative industries are worth, |
| 0:48.8 | unestimated, $124 billion to the UK economy. |
| 0:51.7 | But for actors, painters, or even influencers, |
| 0:53.9 | making it pay can be a challenge. |
| 1:00.7 | I thought, well hey, the channel's going up. And then after Christmas, I thought, oh, my views are up, |
| 1:06.3 | but the revenue's down. While many people are creative, not everyone can afford to turn that passion into a career. So today we're looking at the cost of creativity, because behind every priceless |
| 1:12.5 | masterpiece or successful performer is an investment not just of time, but of money. Let's begin |
| 1:18.8 | with the view from the top, someone who has made it over all the financial and creative hurdles |
| 1:24.0 | to have a long career in the arts. I've been speaking to the actor and former |
| 1:28.3 | I'm a celebrity winner Christopher Biggins. And it is December. So he's once again donning his |
| 1:33.4 | tights for Panto. This year I'm going to be doing Birmingham Hippodrome, Robin Hood, playing |
| 1:40.6 | King John. And it's outrageous pantomime. It really is. It's wonderful. It's spectacular. |
| 1:47.0 | You're undeniably the King of Panto. I think you've even received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Great British Pantamime Awards, which I'm very glad to know exists. |
| 1:56.0 | What is it about Pantamime that you love? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.