Judy Garland’s well-documented self-destruction and the fictionalised abuse of a teenage boy on a film set in Black Money (The film Judy is a reminder of the most tragic effects of child stardom, 30 August) are certainly harrowing, but the working environment facing young performers today is anything but exploitative. Child actors in England work a maximum of nine-and-a-half hours a day, including rest breaks and three hours’ education, with professional chaperones watching over them and recording their activities in 15-minute increments. The achievements of child stars of recent decades speak for themselves: they’re more likely to get a degree from Cambridge, as per Georgie Henley, or speak about gender equality at Davos, like Emma Watson, than check into rehab.
Hannah Wilkinson
Film set tutor (freelance), London
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