BBC Money Box

Can You Make a Creative Job Pay?

Loading player...
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
23 Jan English United Kingdom Business

Other recent episodes

Making Tax Digital and Savings Rates

"A big change" - that's how HMRC has described a major transformation starting in April, which affects the way sole traders and landlords report their income and expenses. The tax office has told Money Box that self assessment has to be modernised to reduce errors and allow them to collect…
30 Jan 30 min

Mortgages, Silver Marriages and Warren Buffett

This week the Bank of England cut interest rates to the lowest level for more than two years. The decision to cut Bank Rate to 3.75% came after new figures also showed inflation had slowed, falling to 3.2% in the year to November. What will that mean for mortgages in…
16 Jan 27 min

Money Box Life: Blended Family Finances

Life can sometimes get very complicated and messy so can our finances, so we're doing something a bit different to our usual Money Box Live. Introducing Money Box Life where we're looking at the finances of blended families. What we mean is family groups with some children from one parent,…
13 Jan 34 min

Investment Changes and Women's Financial Rights

Sweeping changes to the way investments are recommended across the UK will start in April. This week the Financial Conduct Authority set out its plans. The regulator hopes they will encourage more people to invest their savings rather than keep them in cash. From April it will bring in what…
9 Jan 24 min

Money Box Live: Impulse Spending and Debt

It’s December, a time of year when there’s pressure to say yes to every night out, buy the perfect presents and spend without really thinking. All that can lead to snap decisions we later regret, whilst for others, impulse spending can be a real issue all year round. In this…
6 Jan 29 min
All episodes