‘I feel disempowered’: TV actress calls out casting requiring bust size on applications

Actress Kirsty Dillon, who starred in the British mystery series Midsomer Murders, has opened up about casting directors requiring her to disclose her bust size.

Midsomer Murders has been a staple of British TV for the past three decades, spanning 25 seasons and 144 episodes. Kirsty Dillon starred in 24 episodes of the series. She highlighted the prevalence of casting directors asking for actresses’ bust sizes back in 2023, an issue she says is still prevalent today.

“There was a 15-year period of my career where three men were harassing me. When I used to see that [bust size] question on paper, all those trauma symptoms would come flooding back. It was a reminder that my body wasn’t mine,” she told Deadline in a recent interview.

“When I see the question now, it makes me feel angry, disempowered, and depressed. But I don’t feel frightened anymore because I have healed, and I’ve stood up and asked important questions.”

Equity, the UK Actor Union, issued a statement regarding the issue, agreeing that requiring this information before wardrobe is hard to justify.

“Data requested must be relevant and ‘limited to what is necessary,’ and it is hard to justify why any casting agency would need this detailed info before engagement/wardrobe,” they said.

The CDA, the Casting Directors Association, also issued a statement stating that all information in these applications is voluntary. Kirsty saw a requirement for chest size in an application advertisement just last year, which she claimed was required.

“The Casting Directors Association is committed to best practice throughout the casting process. We recommend requesting gender-neutral sizing information on casting forms for the first round of casting and at recall stage,” the organisation said in a statement.

“All information provided is voluntary, and choosing not to provide it will not affect an actor’s application for any role. If an actor is unsuccessful, their information will be retained only for as long as the Casting Director reasonably considers necessary for record-keeping purposes.”

Kirsty Dillon told Deadline she wants to see these kinds of questions removed from applications, required or not. She believes actors feel forced to answer these questions and fear missing out on roles if they ignore them. To push for this, she is raising awareness of the issue and speaking with politicians in the UK.

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