The labour market in Britain's television industry has been transformed in
the last 20 years with the emergence of a large freelance workforce and pro
liferation of work on short-term contracts. This article uses data from the
BFI 'Television Industry Tracking Study', a major longitudinal study of cr
eative workers in television carried out between 1994 and 1998. Case studie
s of individuals with contrasting work histories are used to compare variat
ions within and across age cohorts, to assess the changing set of values of
these creative workers, and to explore the variety of coping strategies wh
ich they deploy to combat uncertainty.