BBC Writersroom has revealed the writers and production companies taking part in our latest Pilot scheme. For 2023 this prestigious initiative (previously known as the TV Drama Writers’ Programme) is partnering 10 talented early-career screenwriters with 10 independent production companies, with a script-commission, giving the screenwriters the opportunity to write the first episode of a potential BBC-commissioned original drama series or serial.

During the year-long scheme, the writers will attend masterclasses and workshops with established television writers, production teams and experts in screenwriting, while developing their original script. The aim is that the writer’s series or serial will be taken into full development by the BBC.

The participants in Pilot for 2023 are:

• Izzy Mant – Company Pictures 
• Jeffrey Aidoo – Greenacre Films 
• Danielle Ward – BBC Studios 
• Sorcha Kurien-Walsh – Hartswood Films 
• Liv Hennessy – Moonage Pictures 
• Lawrie Doran – Kindle Entertainment 
• Noel McCann – New Pictures 
• Tom Melia – Eleven Film 
• Ayad Andrews – Dancing Ledge Productions 
• Angharad Elen – Mammoth Screen  

Meet the writers and find out more about them below:

Izzy Mant

Izzy is a writer and comedian. She has TV comedy-drama projects in development with Various Artists Limited, Genial Productions and ITV Studios America. 

As a comedian she made her Edinburgh Fringe debut in 2019 with POLITE CLUB, a multimedia/stand-up show about politeness addiction, which sold out 20 performances. “Engaging, intelligent and unflinchingly honest!” – The List. “Pure hilarity” – Ed Fest Mag. “..in this polished, consistently amusing debut she confirms her emergence from her shell and absolute bona fides as a comic.” – The Scotsman. Her jokes were featured on Best Jokes of the Fringe lists in The Telegraph, iNews and GQ. 

Izzy was a winner of the BAFTA Rocliffe Comedy Showcase, has been commissioned to write sketches for HARRY & PAUL (BBC2), has storylined for Beano Productions, and developed the sitcom pilot BOOTEEQ for ITV Studios through a writers’ room process. She was Story Producer on TRYING (seasons 2 & 3) for Apple TV+ and contributed additional material.

Previously, Izzy worked closely with writers as a producer on TV scripted comedy such as THE WINDSORS, HARRY & PAUL and PEEP SHOW Series 5. She has also directed theatre, live comedy and radio, and she co-created the BBC interactive radio drama THE DARK HOUSE, winner of a BAFTA Interactive award.

Jeffrey Aidoo

Jeffrey Aidoo is a British writer with a unique voice, who is determined for the world to hear new stories, from new perspectives. He straddles both comedy and drama, but above all, he is driven to tell raw, distinct, unadulterated stories that enlighten, educate and entertain. Jeffrey has multiple credits and commissions across Amazon Audible U.S, BBC Radio and Television.

Danielle Ward

Danielle Ward is an award-winning stand-up comedian turned writer. Her credits include Horrible Histories, Danger Mouse, Mongrels, Idris Elba's sitcom In The Long Run and most recently Brassic for Sky Max. Danielle is also the creator and host of hit podcast Do The Right Thing, cult club night Karaoke Circus and she played bass for Welsh indie pop band The Loves. She lives in North Yorkshire with her actor husband David Reed and their daughter

Sorcha Kurien-Walsh

Sorcha Kurien-Walsh is a playwright and screenwriter based in London. She was part of the Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab from 2016-17, and then was a writer on attachment at the Oxford Playhouse from 2017-18. She is the writer of a short film in post-production, has two original TV ideas in development with BBC Studios, and has participated in a writers room for an upcoming Netflix show. She is currently a staff writer on Disney+'s adaptation of Jilly Cooper's RIVALS, and one of the founders of Messy Women, a new writing collective.

Liv Hennessy

Liv Hennessy is a screen and theatre writer from the West Midlands, now based in London. In 2020, she was a finalist in the Paines Plough Women’s Prize for Playwriting with her debut play Colostrum. Previously, she has worked as Story Producer and Story Editor on ITV’s Emmerdale. Currently, Liv has multiple original projects in development for theatre and screen, with companies including Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Boffola Pictures.

Lawrie Doran

Lawrie Doran is a writer for TV and film. His feature script YESTERDAY TOMORROW TODAY placed in the top three on the Brit List, a showcase of the country’s best unmade screenplays, and will be produced by Met Film Production. He is currently developing an eclectic slate of projects with companies including Elation Pictures, Rabbit Track, and Augenschein Filmproduktion. Lawrie’s past films have played at London Film Festival, Austin Film Festival and Palm Springs. He is a BAFTA Connect member, an alumnus of Torino FilmLab and a recipient of the John Brabourne Award. Born and raised in Manchester, he now lives in London, and is known for writing that blends genres to confront audiences with different ways of seeing.

Noel McCann

Noel McCann is an Irish writer who served as a police officer for 15 years. A passionate storyteller, he left behind a world of suspect interviews and crime scenes for pitch meetings and producer notes. His unique experiences heavily inform his view of the world.

Most recently, he has been writing for Belfast-based police drama Blue Lights, due to air on BBC1, as well as working on a number of his own commissions.

These include an exciting period drama for Element Pictures called Hallions, while also developing a unique cop-drama with The Forge. Noel is also adapting a novel for television which is based on a real-life bank robbery.

Previously, Noel was shortlisted for BBC Writersroom Drama Room 2019 and was chosen for the 2020 Writersroom scheme ‘Belfast Voices’. This year he has been accepted on to NIScreen’s ‘New Writer Focus’ programme where he is developing his feature Two Little Birds.

Tom Melia

Tom is a writer and producer for TV, film and radio. His credits include Bloods for Sky, Zero Chill for Netflix, The Lenny Henry Show for BBC Radio 4 and Hollyoaks for CH4. His forthcoming debut feature film, the romantic-comedy Rye Lane, co-written with Nathon Bryon and made with BBC Films, BFI and Fox Searchlight, is set for release in cinemas next year. As well as an original comedy-drama series in development with Various Artists and Lionsgate US, Tom is also currently working on exciting projects with companies such as Pulse Films, Deadpan Pictures, BBC Studios and Boffola.

Ayad Andrews

Ayad was born in Baghdad, Iraq and came to the UK in 1971. He was sole writer and co-creator of the multi award-winning BBC 5 Live/BBC Sounds podcast docu-drama series THE FIGHT OF THE CENTURY – ALI v FRAZIER. Winner of a Gold ARIA at this year’s Audio and Radio Industry Awards, the series has charted in over 80 countries and won four New York Festivals Radio Awards as well as bronze at this year’s British Podcast Awards.

He’s also written for TALES FROM MALORY TOWERS – SPORTS DAY (CBBC/King Bert Productions) and two series of Wondery Media’s BUSINESS MOVERS strand – GEORGE LUCAS: CREATING A HOLLYWOOD EMPIRE and THE HP SPYING SCANDAL.

Ayad’s first full-length play, TERP, was a winning finalist in the Theatre 503 International Playwriting Prize 2020, and he has gone on to have success in a number of competitions, including the BBC Writersroom Drama Room and this year’s FrightFest horror film festival (New Blood Class of 2022).

Angharad Elen

Angharad writes for TV, film and theatre in both Welsh and English. After gaining a first-class degree in Welsh Literature and Philosophy at Cardiff University, she went on to gain an MA in Creative Writing – also at Cardiff University – before being appointed as Literary Manager for new writing theatre company Sgript Cymru. She then went on to work as a producer at Cwmni Da production company in Caernarfon, where she stayed for 16 years. In 2021, she made the leap to become a freelance writer.

She created the drama series STAD (6×60’) for S4C in 2021, co-storylining the series and scripting four episodes. In 2018 she co-wrote the Welsh language scenes in the ‘Tywysog Cymru’ episode of THE CROWN (Leftbank/Netflix) and was Associate Producer on William McGregor’s debut feature, GWEN (Endor/BFI) starring Maxine Peake. A short film she wrote, TITSH (S4C/EBU) was broadcast in 11 territories world-wide and a pre-school live action series she created – DEIAN A LOLI (Cwmni Da for S4C) – has been in production for 8 years running, has won numerous awards, has been sold internationally, is now a book series and has a theatre show and feature film in development. Her drama and documentary productions have won a Broadcast Award, a New York Film and Television award and numerous Bafta Wales and Celtic Media Festival awards, including the coveted Spirit of the Festival award for GERALLT (Cwmni Da for S4C) - a cinema verite film she produced about Wales' most enigmatic and celebrated poet.

She has three drama series in development with various production companies - CALON LÂN / I HEART YOU, PIGEON and DO NOT GO GENTLE! - and is currently writing her debut novel.

She is an EAVE Producers’ Workshop graduate and works part-time as Development Executive at Triongl production company in Cardiff.

She lives near the sea in Llandwrog, north Wales, with her partner and three children.

Recent successful outcomes from Pilot include Lost Boys and Fairies written by Welsh writer Daf James and produced by Leeds-based indie Duck Soup Films, which was developed as part of the 2019 scheme, and will be filmed for BBC One and BBC iPlayer during 2023.

Applications for writers to take part in the next Pilot opportunity will be open in early autumn via the BBC Writersroom website.

Find out more about Pilot and the writers and production companies who have taken part

We are delighted to reveal the writers and production companies taking part in this year’s TV Drama Writers' Programme. For 2021 this highly-respected initiative (now in its seventh year) is partnering thirteen up-and-coming screenwriters with thirteen independent production companies, giving the screenwriters the opportunity to write the first episode of a potential BBC-commissioned original drama series or serial.

During the year-long scheme, the writers will attend masterclasses and workshops with established television writers, production teams and experts in screenwriting, while developing their original script. The process culminates in read-throughs, following which the aim is that the writer’s series or serial will be taken into full development by the BBC.

The participants in the 2021 programme are:

• Tim X Atack – Hillbilly Films
• In-Sook Chappell – Sugar Films
• Celia Morgan – The Lighthouse Film & TV
• Daniel Rusteau – Element Pictures
• Alissa Anne Jeun Yi – BBC Studios
• Adam Usden – Moonage Pictures
• Amy Trigg – Eleven Film
• Tolula Dada – Firebird Pictures
• Nikesh Shukla – Hartswood Films
• Chloë Mi Lin Ewart – Dancing Ledge Productions
• Anna Mason – The Forge
• Abi Hynes – New Pictures
• Siofra Dromgoole - See-Saw Films

Find out more about them below.

Tim X Atack is a writer and composer based in Bristol, working in screen, audio, theatre, games and XR. He wrote the award-winning sci-fi eco thriller FOREST 404 for BBC Sounds and was winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2017 with HEARTWORM. Along with the director Tanuja Amarasuriya he is co-founder of Sleepdogs, and is a resident at Pervasive Media Studio, Watershed.

In-Sook Chappell was born in South Korea but raised in England. She studied dance in New York at the Alvin Ailey School before moving into acting. She started writing in-between acting jobs. Her first play THIS ISN’T ROMANCE was produced at the Soho Theatre after winning the Verity Bargate Award. It also enjoyed a sell-out Korean production at the National Theatre Company of Korea. In-Sook has made two short films and was a member of the National Theatre’s Musical Theatre Group 2019.

Theatre includes TALES OF THE HARROW ROAD (Soho Theatre), ABSENCE (Young Vic Theatre), P’YONGYANG (Finborough Theatre), THE FREE9 (National Theatre Connections), MOUNTAINS (Royal Exchange Theatre and National Tour).

She is currently developing her first feature film with the BFI.

Celia Morgan gained a Masters in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media from Central School of Speech and Drama in 2006. After that, she spent many years working in television, in a variety of roles, before coming to the realisation that writing is her only real ambition. Starting over as a writer in 2019, Celia immediately began making headway in script submission competitions, which enabled her to get an agent and begin working full time as a writer on existing shows. The next step is to see her own original drama on screen.

Daniel Rusteau is a writer and playwright from London who is currently a member of the writersroom for the Showtime series SHAKA: KING OF THE ZULU NATION (Fuqua Films/Illusionarium/Propgate/CBS). He was recently a member of the writersroom for the neo-noir detective series MIDDLE WEST (Outlier Society/Point Grey/Amazon), he has written two episodes of HOLLYOAKS (Lime/Ch4) and his half-hour film SUPERDAD for the anthology series ON THE EDGE (BlackLight TV/Ch4) is shooting this spring.

He is adapting for TV the novel THE DIVINITIES by Parker Bilal for See-Saw Films and has projects in development with Film Nation, World Productions, Beano Productions, Headline Productions, West Road Productions and Blacklight Television. His crime drama TV script THE BOROUGH made the 2019 Brit List and his play THE ONES WE LOVE was shortlisted for the Soho Theatre Tony Craze Award 2021.

He participated in the BBC Writersroom London Voices Scheme 2018/19 and is currently on the BBC Studios Writers’ Workshop with John Yorke.

AJ Yi is a writer-performer, comedian and drag artist whose work spans screen, stage and audio.

They make “thrilling, funny, heart-breaking and empowering” (Edinburgh Guide) autobiographical performance art-comedy shows that have toured throughout the UK. In 2018, AJ's debut Edinburgh Fringe show LOVE SONGS (developed through the Soho Theatre) received Guardian Pick of the Fringe and was nominated for two Edinburgh Comedy Awards and the Tony Craze Award. AJ has since gone on to talk about the show’s themes of healing and navigating trauma on iTunes Top Ten BBC Sounds podcast AFTER and in articles for TIME and The Independent.

AJ was part of BBC Writersroom Drama Room 2019, where they were commissioned to write and perform their play AVOCADO FRIED RICE on BBC Radio 3. As a writer AJ has worked with CBBC, CBeebies, World Productions, Working Title Films, English Touring Theatre, and Fremantle Media. They currently have an original TV show in development with Baby Cow Productions and are working on multiple projects with the Bush Theatre.

Adam Usden is an award-winning writer from Manchester, now based in London. He is currently Lead Writer on new young teen drama series Zero Chill for Lime/Netflix and has script commissions from Lime, CBBC, West Road Pictures and FilmNation/Sky. He has also written an episode of Ackley Bridge Series 3 for The Forge/C4 and is a graduate of 4Screenwriting 2019. Away from TV, Adam’s debut Afternoon Drama for BBC Radio 4, The Book of Yehudit, received the Imison Award for ‘Best Script by a Writer New to Radio’ at the BBC Audio Awards, and his second, Sophie’s Lights, was shortlisted for ‘Best Drama’ at the BBC Radio News and Drama Awards.

Amy Trigg is an actor and writer from Essex. She was the first wheelchair user to graduate from a performance course at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Her acting credits include work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s Globe, The Stephen Joseph Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse, BBC and Universal.

Amy’s first full length play 'Reasons You Should(n't) Love Me’ was joint winner of the inaugural Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2020 (Ellie Keel Productions and Paines Plough) and will get its premiere at Kiln Theatre in May 2021. Amy’s essay ‘An Ode to Improv (and Poehler and Fey)’ features in the book ‘Feminist’s Don’t Wear Pink (and other lies)’. She won 'Colchester New Comedian of the Year 2016’ for her one woman sketch 'The Rebrand’. Amy is currently a writer for the upcoming BBC series ‘Ralph and Katie’ (produced by ITV Studios) and is developing original projects for stage and screen. 

Amy is currently part of the Channel 4 Screenwriting Course 2021, BBC Drama Room 2020/21 and BBC Writers Access Group 2020/21. She was recently part of the Royal Court Introduction to Playwriting Group 2020/21.

Tolula Dada is an award-nominated writer and story producer with over a decade’s TV experience, spanning drama development and script editing continuing drama and returning series for BBC One, ITV, Sky One and HBO/Cinemax.

Her first full-length play, CARROT OR STICK? was nominated for the 2015 Alfred Fagon Award. She went on to complete the Royal Court’s Introduction to Playwriting Group and a year-long writing residency at Oxford Playhouse. She completed the 2019 4Screenwriting Course, and the following year her second play, MARRY OR BURN, was longlisted for the Verity Bargate Award 2020.

She is currently developing a number of original projects for TV, alongside writing on the forthcoming BBC Three series, RED ROSE and the sixth series of ITV’s GRANTCHESTER.

Nikesh Shukla is a novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of Coconut Unlimited (shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award), Meatspace and the critically acclaimed The One Who Wrote Destiny. Nikesh is a contributing editor to the Observer Magazine and was previously their columnist. Nikesh is the editor of the bestselling essay collection, The Good Immigrant, which won the reader's choice at the Books Are My Bag Awards. He co-edited The Good Immigrant USA with Chimene Suleyman. He is the author of two YA novels, Run, Riot (shortlisted for a National Book Award) and The Boxer (longlisted for the Carnegie Medal). Nikesh was one of Time Magazine’s cultural leaders, Foreign Policy magazine's 100 Global Thinkers and The Bookseller's 100 most influential people in publishing in 2016 and in 2017. He is the co-founder of the literary journal, The Good Journal and The Good Literary Agency. Nikesh is a fellow of the Royal Society Of Literature and a member of the Folio Academy. Nikesh’s new book, Brown Baby: A Memoir Of Race, Family And Home was released on Bluebird in February 2021.

Chloë Mi Lin Ewart is a British East Asian, lower-class writer, born and bred in Leeds, now based mostly in London.

Currently part of the BBC Writersroom Drama Room, Chloë is writing an episode of ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL 2 (Playground / Channel 5) and CURFEW 2 (Moonage Pictures). She also has three of her own shows in development – FRIED (West Road Pictures), THE PA (Slam Films) and THE GIFT (West Road Pictures).

Previously, Chloë was part of the writer’s room for a new project, SHENHOODS (Dark wave Film), completed the 4Screenwriting 2020 course and was a writer on JAMES GRAHAM’S SKETCHING (PW Productions), which was subsequently published by Methuen Drama.

Chloë has also been longlisted by Thousand Films for her TV pilot, FINDING DAD and by Bush Theatre, the Papatango Prize and the Verity Bargate Award for her plays, THINGS I KNOW and THESE DAYS. She also received funding from Film London for her short film, CUPIDITY, which went on to win ‘Best Short’ at the Unrestricted View Film Festival.

Anna Mason is a writer for screen and theatre from Leeds. She is currently developing an original comedy drama, Watch Them Burn, with New Pictures and a YA thriller adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Shadow with ENLA Media. Her pilot, How to Get Rid of Carol, was featured on the Brit List 2019. Anna was chosen for the BBC Drama Writers Room 2019-20 for her feature script, Them Girls. As part of this programme she developed her pilot, Your Place or Ours? Anna has written several short plays that have been performed in various theatres throughout London and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Abi Hynes graduated from Channel 4's 4Screenwriting Course in 2018. She is currently developing original TV drama projects with Kudos North and Sunnymarch, and she has written four episodes of new historical audio drama DARK HARBOUR for Audible, which will be out later this year. Her plays, which include MISTER STOKES: THE MAN-WOMAN OF MANCHESTER and BURNLEY'S LESBIAN LIBERATOR for LGBT History Month's Festival Theatre, have been performed in venues across the UK. She is also a prize-winning fiction writer: she won the Cambridge Short Story Prize in 2018, and her short stories have been widely published in print and online.

Siofra Dromgoole has written three plays: Baby, What Blessings (Bunker, Edinburgh Fringe, Theatre503) Walk Swiftly and With Purpose (Edinburgh Fringe, Theatre503) and If It Didn't Matter (North Wall, Edinburgh Fringe.) She has a range of radio and screen projects in development. Her work is interested in coming-of-age, in the loosest sense of the term — what it is to come into new information, and how we assimilate it. (The loosest sense being one that's broad enough to accomodate a play about race and privilege, a film about intergenerational alcoholism, a Saturnalia performance exploring bodies and a book of poetry and painting about scarecrows.)

She has taken part in residencies workshops at North Wall Art Centre and Royal Court, works part-time in publishing and lives in London.

Find out more about the TV Drama Writers' Programme

To say the past year has been challenging would be an understatement. My beautiful mum died during the launch week of BBC Writersroom TV Drama Writers' Programme and just a couple of weeks later a major global pandemic ensued. Taking all this into account, I must say I’ve never been more grateful to have something both thrillingly creative and wholly concrete to focus on, all the while supported by some wonderful people, not least my phenomenal team at Heyday.

But let’s begin at the beginning over eighteen months ago; June 2019.

A BBC Writersroom Twitter post alerted me to the fact there was only 1 week to go to the closing date of the BBC TV Drama Writers Programme; submissions requiring both a full length script and treatment idea for an entirely different show. At this point I didn’t fully comprehend what the scheme was exactly but it sounded exciting and worth a shot.

I pulled a very early draft of an old script I had sat on my computer and spent a full week re-writing it. Alongside this and with limited time, I roped my partner into helping me brainstorm an idea I’d had for a feminist dystopian thriller; A Handmaid’s Tale slash Years and Years. By the end of the week I was chuffed to have, at the very least, two new pieces of work that I felt worthy of sending out to producers. Deadlines, it appears, are a writer’s friend.

A couple of months passed and I had totally forgotten about my application; until I received an email stating that I had been shortlisted. The BBC Writersroom team wanted to meet with me to discuss my submission - plus two further treatment ideas - in two weeks time. I thus had fourteen days to write two more brand new treatments and suddenly I wasn’t so keen on deadlines anymore! High on adrenaline, I scrambled around for ideas and finally pulled together two additional and very different proposals. Once again, though somewhat frazzled, I was chuffed to have two more well-explored ideas that I could use in generals and producer meetings.

A fortnight passed and my meeting at BBC Broadcasting House in London ensued, complete with ninety minutes of serious grilling with two BBC Writersroom Development Producers; asking about my journey as a writer, the inspiration behind my submitted pieces and ultimately a fairly thorough interrogation of my work. Difficult questions were posed which I didn’t always have the answers to and areas of improvement suggested which were received with gratitude. I was then told to go home and work on all four ideas, as should I be successful, the next stage would be sending these works out to the ‘indies’ (independent TV producers).

Again many more weeks passed and I distracted myself by launching into the development period of my first BFI Network short film. A podcast interview with Sally Abbott once taught me to always have several projects on the go, so nothing ever becomes too important. I really do heed this advice. One morning a gloriously unexpected email arrived telling me I had made the next stage and to send my spec script, the three improved treatment ideas and a writer biography forthwith. Fourteen of the hottest indies in the UK were being sent our work, including BBC Studios, Bad Wolf, Two Cities, STV, Duck Soup, New Pictures, The Forge, Red, Firebird, Heyday, Moonage, Clerkenwell, Dancing Ledge and Element Pictures. A few weeks later I received emails inviting me to meet with the development execs of BBC Studios, Bad Wolf, Heyday and Clerkenwell. I literally couldn’t believe my luck.

Wearing my finest, dark green, leopard print power suit, I trained it down to London once more. Each indie meeting was thrilling; allowing space to further explore my ideas and hone my pitching skills. I would have been delighted to be chosen by any of these amazing indies but I can’t deny the small hope that Heyday would make the offer, given the absolute blast we had in the meeting. I felt really safe in their hands, especially when discussing ideas and issues close to my heart - something I feel is imperative in order to create my finest and most honest work.

More weeks passed and during the week of my NFTS Directing course, whilst sat alone in a Beaconsfield Travelodge and drinking red wine out of a mug a la Alan Partridge, I got the call I had never dared to hope for. Heyday (Harry Potter/Paddington/Once upon a Time in Hollywood, The Longsong, The Capture - those guys) had chosen to spend the next year working in development with me. I rang home; told my partner and then my Mum and Dad and spent the rest of the night chin-chinning my lone self in the mirror. Partridge would have been proud.

Of course, life never quite goes to plan. The very week of the BBC Writersroom's event at BAFTA was the same week we discovered that my phenomenal mum had very little time left to live. However, much against my better judgement and very much with my family and Mum’s own encouragement, I made my way down to London for the big event. The great and the good of TV development filled the room, allowing we writers to awkwardly ponder how best to strike up a conversation with any and all of them. Mercifully, the wine flowed and soon too did the mingling. My heightened state made for some unusual conversations but I felt confident in the knowledge that Mum had her hand on my shoulder across these endeavours.

Five days later she passed away at home, surrounded by people she loved.

To my gratitude, both Heyday and the BBC were beautifully respectful and kind, allowing me time to grieve (and slowly prepare for the imminent global pandemic). Upon my return to Nottingham, Heyday and I scheduled something I’d never before heard of, a “zoom meeting”. We discussed the three treatments I had submitted as well as my spec script and it became apparent to all of us there really was only one story we all wanted to tell; that of a madcap Northern family truthfully, lovingly and most importantly, positively dealing with their mother’s early-onset Alzheimer's diagnosis. Based on some of the themes addressed in my original spec script as well as my one woman Edinburgh show some years previously, we set about brainstorming the piece with me regaling crazy tales and fond memories of the past 10 years with Mum.

My utterly stupendous team, Head of Development Sue Gibbs and Development Execs Anna Hargreaves and Catherine Gobert-Jones, guided me carefully through what could have been a very tricky period, allowing me space to step back when the subject matter became too painful. Their patience, alongside constant belief and encouragement, meant that a year that could have felt so bleak and dark was actually filled with much joy, hope and light. We became a little family on zoom and over the months I wrote (and then re-wrote) the first two thirty-minute episodes of a show I’d wanted to write for years. Twelve months and many drafts later, all under the exquisite guidance of these phenomenal women, we finally sent my work to the chiefs at BBC Writersroom alongside the work of my ten other, brilliantly talented, BBC Writersroom pals.

Writers Bella Heesom (Firebird Pictures), Catherine Moulton (Moonage Pictures), Dipo Baruwa-Etti (Duck Soup Films), Emma Dennis-Edwards (The Forge), John O’Donovan (Element Pictures), Lindsey Alford (Red Production Company), Melissa Osborne (BBC Studios), Naomi Sheldon (Bad Wolf), Rabiah Hussain (Clerkenwell Films) Stef Smith (Dancing Ledge Productions) and myself became a solid unit throughout the year; meeting regularly on zoom for wine, chats and gossip; one hour meet ups running to three. I feel so lucky to now have a solid group of brilliant, professional writer pals to call on for advice, support and guidance in this challenging and often solitary career. What was heartening is that we were all chosen for our individual merits and distinctive voices; meaning we all had something new and unique to bring to discussions.

Finally the week came where we were to hear our work, 20 pages read aloud on zoom by some well known acting talent and directed by the brilliant Jessica Dromgoole. With 2-3 pieces scheduled each day, mine was timetabled for first thing Friday. A pre-meeting with my team and Heyday President Tom Winchester both calmed my nerves and bolstered my confidence and the stage was quite literally set. I gave my two minute introduction, explaining my reasons for writing this piece and why I believed it needed to be made. And I just managed to hold it together when mentioning that the day of the read-through would have indeed been my parents 55th wedding anniversary. My poor actors, now somewhat choked by my X-Factor introduction, then had to go on to perform comedy. Being professionals they stormed it and the hour ended with further comments and questions. A zoom call with my Heyday crew alleviated post-show nerves and we, and the rest of the BBC Writersroom group, were left with the knowledge that the rest of this journey was now out of our hands.

Two weeks later and I am here contemplating the year that was. After all the many discussions and last minute re-writes, I desperately miss the pandemonium and excitement of the last few months and weeks leading up to our submission to the commissioners. But fortunately I am still in touch with all those mentioned above and the conversations have continued.

None of us yet know what will become of our last twelve month’s work; some may be commissioned by the BBC, some elsewhere. Some of us may start work on something entirely different, buoyed by the confidence and learnings of the past year. I for one know that my writing has improved immeasurably, I’ve had a wholly unique and rewarding experience that no one can take away from me and I’ve made friends whom I will champion for the rest of my career. And for that I am truly grateful.

It really has felt that someone immensely special has been looking out for me.

TIPS for success when submitting to BBC Writersroom:

● Why you?

Know why you’re the one writing this piece - you and not someone else entirely. What is your personal connection to the story, no matter how deeply buried. That truth will be revealed in your writing as distinctive and honest. This is particularly pertinent when it comes to pitching your idea. Make your viewers, listeners and readers care.

● Why now?

Know why this piece needs to be written now. What is going on in the world which makes it relevant? Even if the script is set way in the past, know how it links to our current and future. Again, why should we care?

● What else?

Commissioning ideas, winning awards and being selected often comes down simply to taste. It’s not that your script and idea isn’t fabulous - it just might not appeal to the person reading it. Or indeed, they may already have something similar on their slate. Think about what keeps you awake at night; what angers you, turns your blood cold or brings you great joy. Turn these little balls of fire into brand new stories using your wholly distinctive voice. If it scares you to think about writing about it, you’re probably on the right track!

Find out more about the TV Drama Writers' Programme

Find out more about Leanne Davis on her agent's website

The writers and productions companies taking part in the 2021/22 TV Drama Writers' Programme will be announced soon, Keep an eye out on our social media and website for details. The opportunity was open for applications in June-July 2020 and will be open again for applications to the 2022/23 scheme later this year with details on our Opportunities page.

We also run other opportunities which are more targeted, with more restricted entry criteria. One of these schemes, the TV Drama Writers’ Programme, is for more experienced writers who have not yet managed to get a BBC TV Drama script commission. The writers demonstrate this experience through having achieved a professional writing credit, which can be in any medium, and any area, other than original series TV or by having already been signed by an agent. This helps these writers onto the next step of their career, and helps the BBC work with the most exciting rising talent. We commission around 10 writers to write a script, for which they are paid the WGGB rate. These writers will have spent time, often years, finding their voice, working out who they are as writers and developing their craft. However, they are new to BBC Drama and the companies with whom they are placed.

Many writers with agents are not earning a living from writing and still need support through schemes of this nature to gain script commissions.

We are also very conscious that the BBC lacks particular voices, and we also focus resources to encourage and support writers of all levels of experience, whose voices may historically have been under-represented in the UK television landscape.

That said, in everything we do, our guiding principle is always to seek out writers with the strongest potential to be developed and produced for BBC broadcast. We receive many thousands of scripts every year and can only focus on the writers who we feel have the most potential.

Carving a career as a writer takes time, and each writer’s development needs will be different. We offer a range of opportunities to suit writers at different stage of their careers. It is a challenging and competitive industry, but we believe that talent will shine through in the end, when matched with perseverance and resilience.

Applications for the TV Drama Writers' Programme 2021 are open until noon on Monday 20th July

Find out more about the TV Drama Writers' Programme and the writers and companies who have taken part

To find out more about what we do and how we can (and can’t) develop your writing read this previous blog post

Explore free-to-enter writing opportunities from the BBC and across the industry

Most of the writers decided what they’d work on later on in the process, but I actually knew right from the start the idea I wanted to develop during the programme: I had always wanted to write a drama series about the fascinating, sometimes secretive pharmaceutical industry and Clerkenwell were interested in exploring this subject too.

We spent the first six months focusing on research and pulling together potential storylines and characters before I started work on creating an outline and then writing the pilot. Clerkenwell arranged for me to have invaluable support from the fantastic TV and film researcher Meroë Candy, who set me up with numerous helpful (and interesting) interviews with academics and employees from the world of big pharma.

Alongside developing the script with Clerkenwell, the BBC Writersroom invited me to attend a series of useful events, along with the other eight writers on the programme. This included being introduced to the commissioners; a workshop on structure with John Yorke; an invitation to the BBC Writers’ Festival 2018, a preview screening of Kirstie Swain’s marvellous show Pure and masterclasses with super successful writers Mike Bartlett, Jed Mercurio, and Abi Morgan.

We were also invited to attend a pitching session with BBC Three. This turned out to be hugely beneficial for me as one of the drama commissioners, Ayela Butt, liked one of my ideas and it has recently gone into development with Playground Entertainment/BBC Three.

The second half of the year was spent writing and redrafting the pilot episode of my series idea Good Pharma with the guidance and encouragement of Petra and Matt at Clerkenwell.

At the end of the programme the nine writers delivered a full-length pilot script and were asked to select a 20-minute extract of this to be read by professional actors (directed by Andy Hay) at a read-through at the BBC. All of the writers were a little nervous to share our scripts for the first time in front of an industry audience. (The night before, our WhatsApp group was littered with Katniss Everdeen GIFs and weeping emojis.)

I turned up at Broadcasting House anxiously on the day of my read-through and had one of my favourite - and most gloriously W1A - moments of the programme… I hadn’t any photo ID with me and the security staff were reticent about letting me into the event - despite the flyers for said event having a large photo of my face on it.

Having successfully convinced the front of house team I wasn’t an evil twin, I took my seat in the BBC's Council Chamber. I was first up and had to introduce my extract. Nervous, I said something about Matt and I, as part of the research, having a tour of a laboratory’s rat vivisection room which made all the attendees momentarily pause from nibbling on the free pastries. Then the actors (beautifully) performed the extract.

It was so useful to hear the script aloud and both Clerkenwell and I were really pleased with the response – and the debate about the ethics of big pharma that it inspired within the audience afterwards. It was also wonderful to hear the enormously varied, tantalising extracts from the other writers’ scripts.

Because that’s one of my favourite things to come out of the BBC TV Drama Writers’ Programme – as well as it being extraordinarily helpful for my career, and having got me working with the superb development team at Clerkenwell Films, it has also introduced me to eight awesome screenwriters.

We’ve all grown close during the year and so I’d like to mention each of them here - just in case you’re not familiar with them already - so you can (and should) keep an eye out for their work. They are: Alan Harris, Francis Turnly, Hamish Wright, James Pearson, Mario Theodorou, Phoebe Éclair-Powell, Rebecca Manley and Tallulah Brown.

One day, hopefully you’ll see our names again in the credits of a BBC show.

I mean, not the same show. That’d be weird.

Find out more about the BBC TV Drama Writers' Programme

The 2019 writers and production companies have just been announced - find out more

*Please note* This is a separate scheme from our open submission Script Room, with more restricted entry criteria

We are delighted to announce the writers for the fourth BBC TV Drama Writers’ Programme, a unique initiative that this year gives ten promising screenwriters the opportunity to write the first episode of an original series or serial for the BBC.

The writers for the 2018 BBC TV Drama Writers’ Programme and the production companies where they have been placed are as follows:

• Alan Harris – Bad Wolf
• Chandni Lakhani – World Productions Scotland
• Francis Turnly – Balloon Entertainment
• Hamish Wright – Element Pictures
• James Pearson – LA Productions
• Mario Theodorou – Mainstreet Pictures
• Phoebe Éclair-Powell – Sid Gentle Films
• Rebecca Manley – Kudos North
• Sarah Page – Clerkenwell Films
• Tallulah Brown – Sister Pictures

Throughout 2018 their scripts will be developed with independent production companies and the writers will be invited to attend masterclasses and workshops with established television writers and production teams.

Independent companies taking part for the first time this year are Bad Wolf, Balloon Entertainment, Clerkenwell Films, Kudos North, Mainstreet Pictures, Sid Gentle Films and Sister Pictures. Previous participants joining again are Element Pictures, LA Productions and World Productions Scotland.

Julie Gardner & Xandria Horton from Bad Wolf said, “We are delighted to take part in this year’s scheme. We were highly impressed by the talent of all of the writers shortlisted, but the chance to work with Welsh writer Alan Harris was a no-brainer for us. Alan brings a deep sense of empathy to all his writing. We are excited to find with him a distinctive Welsh story for the screen.”

Dave Evans, Balloon Entertainment said, "It's been fascinating being involved in this year's TV Drama Writers’ Programme and I've loved having the opportunity to read so many amazing new voices. We're working this year with Francis Turnly - a writer of extraordinary precision and flair with ideas bubbling over. I'm thrilled to have the chance to develop a script with such an exciting and focused mind."

Laura Conway, Kudos North said, “Rebecca Manley has a strong, individual voice; exactly what we’re looking for at Kudos North. I’m delighted we connected at the BBC pitching session and look forward to exploring her witty, brutally honest characters who open up distinctive worlds.”

Justine Potter, LA Productions said, “LA Productions is delighted to be involved with the TV Drama Writers’ Programme for the second year running. Whilst choosing a writer was hard, we're delighted to welcome James Pearson into the fold."

Matt Power, Element Pictures said, “We’re delighted to be taking part in the BBC TV Drama Writers’ Programme this year. Hamish Wright is a very talented writer with such a rich and perceptive voice, and we can’t wait to see what this year will bring. We had such a brilliant experience last year with the programme, and expect more great things this year and going forward.”

Henrietta Colvin, Sid Gentle Films said, “We are delighted to be involved in this year’s programme. It has been a fantastic introduction to some great new talent and we are hugely excited to be working with Phoebe.”

Laura Mackie & Sally Haynes, Mainstreet Pictures said: "Mainstreet are always on the lookout for exciting new voices and are delighted to be a part of the BBC TV Drama Writers’ Programme which enables us to mentor an emerging writing talent. We're extremely lucky to be working with Mario Theodorou who has incredibly distinctive ideas that we look forward to helping him develop over the coming year.”

George Aza-Selinger and Priscilla Parish, World Productions Scotland, said: “We are very pleased to be part of the TV Drama Writers’ Programme again, which does such a brilliant job for the sector by matching exciting emerging talent with Independent Production Companies. We are also over the moon to be working with Chandni Lakhani who blew us away in the application stages with the quality of her writing and ideas as well as her infectious enthusiasm for drama.”

The aim is that each writer’s series or serial will be taken into full development by the BBC. From the 2017 scheme two scripts have so far been formally accepted on the BBC TV Drama commissioning slate whilst others are being considered by commissioners or having further development. 

Established writers who have contributed to Masterclasses and related BBC Writersroom events over the last three years include Mike Bartlett, Danny Brocklehurst, Marnie Dickens, Bill Gallagher, Adrian Hodges, Kay Mellor, Jed Mercurio, Peter Moffat, Vinay Patel, Sarah Phelps, Frank Spotnitz, Sally Wainwright and Toby Whithouse.

Find out more about the BBC TV Drama Writers' Programme - including the writers who have been part of the programme, eligibility and application criteria and FAQs

Read Lauren Sequeira's blog post about the 2017 scheme

*Please note* This is a separate scheme from our open submission Drama Script Room (which closed for submissions in January). We are hoping to let everyone know the results of Drama Script Room by the end of April.

We started the programme off with a residential full of lectures and seminars – and wine in the evening, can’t forget that… It was not only informative but a great bonding experience with the other writers. Once we had packed our bags and checked out, it was off to start our projects.

I paired up with New Pictures (The Missing, Indian Summers, Rellik, Requiem) and the wonderful Kim Varvell and Gus Lewis. We talked deeply about the right idea for the programme, and, naturally, it wasn’t an idea I’d initially pitched. It was a story that had something to say about the state of the world right now and looked closely at girls in gangs. We started off with research – including meeting with a girl who used to be in a gang. Then we got cracking with the pitch document followed by an outline/beat sheet for the pilot script. Kim and Gus were brilliant in getting close to the world and helping me generate ideas. Once we felt we couldn’t beat it and research it anymore, I started writing the first draft.

During all of this, we also got to attend seminars and workshops with some of the leading UK TV writers and producers (including Red Productions, Dan Sefton, Bill Gallagher) and their advice about writing television drama was invaluable. It was also lovely to hear how my fellow writers were getting on with their projects and help each other – it really was a warm environment and far from competitive.

By the end of the programme we had to deliver three drafts and two pitch documents. We had to then choose a 20-page extract for the read-through (which is always the most difficult task of all). I went with the final 20 pages as I felt the momentum and the political message was at its strongest.

The event was directed by Andy Hay with a cast of prominent actors – Emmanuella Cole, Lindsey Coulson, Farzana Dua Elahe, Patrick Miller, Steven Miller, Sean Sagar. It was so nice to hear each writer’s script and the worlds were so different.

I had to wait until the very end to hear mine read out, so the nerves – that had been building for two days - were real. Also, picking the final 20 pages meant I had to explain what had happened before. It was such a warm and open environment and the entire cast offered deep and insightful feedback afterwards, not only in response to the extract they had read, but the series as a whole.

The response I got for mine was out of this world. MORE than what I could’ve hoped for. It was so good to hear the words I’d written read out loud and hear the encouragement in the room that this drama should get made. In fact, as I write this – a couple of days after the read-through – a BBC commissioner has asked to read the full script (!!) so crossing all fingers, toes, and eyes.

The read-through marks the end of the Programme, but it’s just the beginning really. I’m still working with New Pictures and hope that the BBC commissioners give us the green light.

The BBC Writersroom team are still there for support and advice. The scheme has been truly invaluable in these beginning stages of my career and the relationships that you build – particularly with your production company. It’s a collaborative process and this scheme really teaches you that.

Despite what happens next, I have a script I can be proud of, and a deep relationship with a production company I admire.

Find out more about the TV Drama Writers' Programme

(Please note this is a separate scheme from our open submission Script Room with more restricted entry criteria)

The BBC TV Drama Writers’ Programme is an epic project that on both paper and in reality can only be described as a TV writers’ dream.

At best, your script is brought to screen, at worst (although there really is no worst) you have a spec' script... one that has been developed and championed by a dedicated BBC script editor and executive producer team.

As if that weren’t enough, throughout the programme you’re also invited to attend a huge array of masterclasses (and the BBC Writersroom Festival) with leading TV writers, script editors, producers and directors. Namely, but not limited to, Esther Springer, Bill Gallagher, Marnie Dickens, John Yorke and many, many more!

I applied with a stage play and television pitch document. Subsequently I was invited to attend an interview with Ros Ward and Anne Edyvean. We discussed my play, my pitch and also explored a number of other ideas that I hadn’t yet put to paper, obviously, with BBC channels specifically in mind. I found it useful to share a few ideas, and, as it turned out, the idea I’d originally submitted was not in the end the one I developed on the programme. Instead, in that interview, we hit on the seeds of something else...

A couple of weeks later I was delighted to hear I’d gained a place on the programme, along with eleven other writers from across the UK.

Each writer was then assigned a script editor. I sometimes liken the script editor / writer relationship to dating, you either feel compelled to go on a second date or you don’t...It’s safe to say that I got lucky, extremely, extremely lucky with Rachelle Constant. Although we did know each other a little before our pairing, we hit it off and what followed was hard, meticulous work, but also an experience that was enjoyable and exciting.

The fact is this is a highly collaborative process, neither of you really know what “it” is you're creating because [hopefully] it’s new and uncharted. You have to trust that you’ll find and work “it” out together. And that’s just in script/story terms, the real life world of my story was also largely unfamiliar so we needed time to research and work out that world too.

Ultimately the perfect safe space was created, somewhere I could experiment whilst also benefit from Rachelle’s rigour and hugely skilled critical eye.

I wrote, rewrote and rewrote and rewrote again, first a series pitch document, then a story beat sheet, (detailing the pilot episode, scene by scene) and then finally a draft of a script... well in fact two drafts before a workshop with actors.

The workshop process is quite commonplace in theatre but most definitely a luxury in TV and even more so in TV script development. Mark Rice-Oxley, Sarah Ridgeway and Rakhee Thakra worked with director Jennie Darnell and for the first time I heard my script and my characters come to life. They interrogated it in the most open and helpful of ways, mainly through questions, some I could answer and some I couldn’t, but actually they were the more useful ones!

At the final read-through

More rewriting and research and rewriting continued until eventually it was time for the final script read-through days. There was less focus here on development; instead it was an opportunity to hear our scripts in their (almost) finished versions. Yet more fantastic actors (Lindsay Coulson, Ray Fearon, Henry Garrett, Jaye Jacobs, Michael Obiora and Rakhee Thakrar) delved into the twelve scripts under the guidance of inspiring director Andy Hay. It was fascinating to see and hear how everyone’s ideas had now become fully fledged live and kicking stories and even more striking was how each of the scripts was so very different.

Throughout the programme, there had always been an atmosphere of camaraderie amongst all the writers, but here it was felt more than ever. Observations and questions were offered in a genuine and supportive way.

Whilst the programme has officially ended for this cohort, it’s not really goodbye... for me there’s still another draft to do and from there who knows...

Most importantly, regardless of what happens, there’s real legacy, not just in the writers’ whatsapp group (!), but in the form of our spec' scripts. My spec' script is something I and others have hugely invested in, something that feels reflective of the characters I want to see on screen and crucially something of my own voice that I can share with the wider industry.

Find out more about the criteria for the TV Drama Writers Programme - Applications have closed for the 2017 scheme and we are currently interviewing shortlisted writers.

After writing The Nativity for BBC One, they asked if I wanted to write any other “Bible” stories. To be honest I hadn’t even thought about it, but when you’re sitting in a room with the BBC controller of Drama and he’s asking you if you’d like to write something; it tends to focus the mind. I thought hard, silently cursing my limited knowledge of the Bible and I heard myself saying “Noah”. Three years later I’m standing in the desert in Morocco watching David Threlfall build a big boat.

My first thought was that everyone had already done the dodgy looking floods and the animals trotting up the ramp two by two, using the fact that the alligators weren’t eating the cute ducks who proceeded them as proof that this was indeed God’s work. So that was the last thing I wanted to do, I decided to make it a story about faith. One man's faith in his God, a wife’s faith in her husband and children’s faith in their Father. What leapt out at me, as a reason to revisit the story, is how a family would react if the Dad suddenly announced he was going to build a big boat in the desert. This was my starting point because it felt real and grounded and took the story back to what I thought it was, rather than what it had become, the whole Noah’s Ark brand, animals coming in two by two was more akin to Peppa Pig than a story of God cleansing the earth of sinful mankind.

So my original pitch was that I would end on a single raindrop falling into Noah’s outstretched palm. When I wrote that first draft though, I instinctively knew that the audience would feel cheated, that they’d invested ninety minutes to watch a film about Noah and didn’t see a single animal or get a sniff of a flood. I wrote a second draft and found a way to deal with the flood and the animal conundrum without sacrificing my original vision for the film. They’re there, but they’re not what it's about. It took us a while to find the money we needed to fill the funding gap, but we got lucky by finding a U.S partner and even luckier by securing David Threlfall and Joanne Whalley as Noah and his wife.

I then heard that whilst we had been delayed by funding, Aronofsky was making his own version of the story with Russell Crowe as his Noah and a reported $130 million budget. Although I knew that the two films would be different, I knew we might struggle to get noticed alongside it. We also had the same title so we knew we had to change it. Another stroke of luck saw my great mate Sarah Phelps change the title of her new series from The Ark to The Crimson Field and so we became The Ark. I didn’t watch Aronofsky’s Noah, until we had finished shooting The Ark because I didn’t want to be influenced by it in any way, but as soon as we were locked I went to see it. If I’m honest, I was pretty relieved, it wasn’t great, but more importantly it had nothing to do with the story of Noah or certainly not the story of Noah that we were telling.

I’m pretty proud of The Ark, I think we’ve made it relevant for a modern audience, reclaimed the story from the nursery walls and not a single duck walking up a ramp in sight.

The Ark will air on BBC One on 30 March at 8.30pm

Watch a video interview with Tony Jordan to find out more about his writing and how he went from market trader to screenwriter

Read a profile of Tony Jordan on the About the BBC blog

Read scripts by Tony Jordan in our online script library

Steve Pemberton, writer and actor for shows such as A League of Gentlemen, Psychoville and Benidorm, talks to BBC Writersroom about his upcoming 2nd series of Inside No. 9. A dark comedy anthology which he co-writes/co-stars in with Reece Shearsmith.

You caused a lot of discussion and acclaim for your silent episode ‘A Quiet Night In’ last series; do you have any similar convention breaking episodes in this upcoming series?

Well we decided early on not to try another silent episode, in spite of countless people asking us if we were going to. We felt that "A Quiet Night In" worked well on its own terms and that it would be foolish to do an inferior version of it. We have done an episode in the new series which is set in a volunteer call centre, the Comfort Support Line. The idea was that we'd film one telephone booth on a static CCTV camera and then watch someone taking the calls. In a way it's the polar opposite of "A Quiet Night In" because it is so static and all about listening, but we stuck with the conceit and I think it really paid off. It's an experimental format, but that's what an anthology series allows you to do.

Did you write these characters with particular actors in mind including yourself? And are there any parts where you cast someone else but wish you could have played?

We never write with particular actors in mind, although people will often pop into our heads once we've started. In the case of La Couchette we wrote a funny character called Hugo who is a posh backpacker, but it wasn't until halfway through that Jack Whitehall popped into our heads. It did help that he was a huge fan and had expressed an interest in working with us. As we were writing it felt like I would have played Maxwell and Reece would have played Les. Then Reece said he wanted to play Maxwell and I considered being Les before finally plumping for Jorg. We will usually make sure there are at least two characters that we could play, but we won't decide which way round we'll play them until we have all 6 scripts written. There has to be a balance, so we'll do a bit of role-trading at the end, and it's often surprising to us how it ends up. But I was always keen that the show didn't turn into a "look at my wig this week!" vanity project where Reece and I always play the two central roles and no-one else gets a look in. That would become predictable. We wanted the writing and ideas to dictate our roles, not vice-versa. My favourite episode in the new series is "The 12 Days of Christine", and Reece and I have very small roles in that one - make of that what you will!

With your distinctive dark comedy forming the backdrop to a number of your shows - could you ever see a cross-over of Inside No. 9 and The League of Gentlemen/Psychoville? Could Papa Lazarou or Mr Jelly ever turn up? Or are they different worlds in your mind?

We did have a discussion about using David and Maureen in Inside No. 9. We were struggling with "The Understudy" script in the first series, and couldn't decide whether to write it with professional actors or amateurs. We worried that it might be a bit in-jokey using professional actors as the characters, but in the end we felt like it was a world we knew well and I'm really pleased we kept it that way. But when we were discussing making it an amateur group we thought it might be fun to use Maureen as the Lady Macbeth character, egging her son David on to commit more "bad murders" and work himself up the cast list. Ultimately though it didn't feel right to mix up the worlds like that, and Inside No. 9 had to earn its own place in the comedy universe without leaning on our past work. Having said that, some cryptic references are nice: "Psychoville" was how The League of Gentlemen was referred to when it was screened in Japan or South Korea, and in the "Tom & Gerri" episode of Inside No. 9, Gemma Arterton's character was working for a theatre director called Ollie, who we imagined was Ollie Plimsoles from Legz Akimbo, so we'll sometimes put in the odd reference like that for fans.

How do you and Reece develop your ideas for the series? Does it start with the room setting?

Sometimes the setting is the starting point, "La Couchette" was a case in point as I'd just done an overnight journey on holiday in France. "Cold Comfort", the call-centre one, began with the location and we allowed the story to grow from that situation. Other times we'll just think of a trigger to start writing - Reece suggested a seance or a witch-trial - and then we'll see if we can tell that story without moving from the confines of a single location. As a writing exercise it's really useful to put these limitations in place, I think it makes you sharper and more creative and economical.

You and Reece make your Directing debuts in this series. Has Directing changed the way you write? Similarly does being a performer influence your writing?

Certainly being a performer helps the writing. You're aware that you're going to end up playing one of these characters so they'd better all be good! As an actor reading a script you just want to get a very clear idea of what the role is that you're playing, or hoping to play, and if you don't get that then you lose interest. Sometimes it's hard to keep track of who's who if all the characters sound the same, so we hopefully know how to present the characters on the page to entice the actors to the roles, that's how we manage to get such good casts I think. It's certainly not for the money! We didn't know which episodes we would be directing as we wrote the scripts so I don't think that influenced us, but I think if we did it again I'd want to direct something without being onscreen quite so much, it's just very hard to do justice to both jobs at the same time. But the main advantage of acting in and/or directing your own scripts is that the central vision is more likely to remain intact, especially if you have a good relationship with your producers and collaborators as we have.

Is it easier to write self-contained episodes and not worry about serial story arcs?

I've found the writing of Inside No. 9 to be quite liberating, starting with a blank sheet every week. In a way it's daunting because you have to carve out a new setting, storyline and characters each time, but you only have to hold them in your head for 30 pages without thinking "oh it'll be great if his secret comes out in ep5" or "that's a series 2 idea". You just dive straight in with the knowledge that you have to reach a conclusion within the same half-hour, and that's refreshing. Hopefully there's no padding, and let's face it we've all seen episodes of shows, even if we love them, which have felt repetitive or inert.

You send the audience all over the place with Inside No. 9, similar to the way that Jack Whitehall was flung around in the filming of the first episode of the series ‘La Couchette’, which caused him to be sick! Would you say having numerous twists is a conscious characteristic of the show?

We like to keep the audience guessing and constantly surprise them, but we found that the word "twist" soon becomes reductive. It seemed like people would judge the episodes on the so-called twist, and if there wasn't one, then the episode "wasn't as good". Our aim to is to write things which you have to lean into, you have to watch actively, and if you do that your attention will be repaid. We've always enjoyed that style of writing though, it's there in The League of Gentlemen and in Psychoville.

How has the Comedy landscape changed for writers during your career?

I remember that doing sketches in Edinburgh in 1996 felt quite outre, the comedy scene was more stand-up dominated. Then sketch shows gained momentum with the likes of The Fast Show and Armstrong and Miller, up to The League of Gentlemen and Little Britain, and the stand-ups couldn't get a look in. Now it feels like panel shows have helped bring things back round and the sketch show seems out of favour again. Which is a huge shame because so many writers get their breaks writing these short-form pieces and it's a great way to learn what works and what your voice is. However I'm getting the feeling that there are lots of great sketch acts out there waiting to make a mark - we watched Gein's Family Gift Shop in Edinburgh and I was really keen to get them involved in the new series - and the likes of Max and Ivan, Toby and WitTank all seem to be making their mark.

What advice would you give to someone starting out as a Comedy writer now?

I guess work hard and keep writing. It's more frustrating for the struggling actor because you can't act in isolation, you need a project, someone needs to choose you to do something. A writer can always write! My main advice, which I need to heed myself every day, is that the first draft doesn't need to be perfect, you can learn what the first scene needs to be by the time you've written the last scene. I'm guilty of opening up the laptop and always fiddling with the first 5 pages instead of ploughing on to the end.

Are you currently working on anything else? Including any potential future episode thoughts for Inside No. 9?

Well Reece and I have another commission for a one-off project at the BBC, and we'd also like to do another series of Inside No. 9, so we'll have to see how series 2 goes down. If we get a third series I'd love to do an online spin-off, a "No. 9A" perhaps, and work with new and emerging comedy writers. The format has so many opportunities and can incorporate so many styles, as long as you stick to the small cast, single location constraint. I think it's really important to bring through fresh voices

Inside No. 9 returns on BBC Two on Thursday 26 March 2015 at 10pm

Find out more about Inside No. 9 and watch on BBC iPlayer

Read and download Inside no. 9 scripts including 'The 12 Days of Christine'

Watch last series' Interactive online episode 'The Inventors'

To discover more about last year's online episode 'The Inventors' and how it was made see the BBC TV Blog

How aware of the book were you before?

I’ll be really honest, I didn’t know much about the book until I was asked to read it. I live in such a cave most of the time, head down, writing, researching, drinking tea and lying on the carpet, that the outside world is a bit of a blur. I was aware that JK Rowling had published her first post-Potter novel for grown-ups, Jo being who she is and Potter being the global juggernaut phenomenon it is, you can’t help but be aware, but that’s about as much as I knew when it was published. I liked the title though. Intriguing.

Had you read the Harry Potter books?

No, I’ve not read the Harry Potter books. Is that bad? There was a time when you’d be on the Tube and you’d be surrounded by men and women in suits going to work, absorbed in a Harry Potter novel. I’ve got friends who are obsessed and once had a stand up row with a bloke at a party who wouldn’t stop going on about who was a Muggle and who should be in Gryffindor or whatever. One of my nieces was crazy about them though and, like so many other kids, always had her head buried in this huge thick book, just completely mesmerised. Gripped. I like that, children gripped by books. What am I saying, ‘like’… I LOVE that.

Will the audience be surprised by the change of tone and subject matter?

The tone and subject matter of The Casual Vacancy is adult; families, death, grief, poverty, addiction, village politics, allegiances and enmities. They’re universal stories, I suppose. But I don’t think the audience will be that surprised, it’s post-watershed for a start and also I believe the Potter stories didn’t shy away from dark themes.

Did you have a favourite character or characters that it was easiest to write – whose voice you found quickest?

I don’t really know how to answer that one. I loved writing all of them. It’s very much an ensemble piece and once I’d decided on how I wanted to adapt the story and how it should work, which characters were going to be included and which left out, their voices came through. They were just there, talking, telling their stories, sometimes volubly and sometimes, as in one of the teenage characters, with almost no words at all.

When I think about characters I imagine them walking into a room - how do they carry their weight? Who do they look at? Are their shoulders straight or slumped, do they want to be seen or ignored? Where have they just come from? What was going on? What are they thinking about right this moment? What is the secret that they just can’t tell? And then suddenly they open their mouth and there they are talking. Voice isn’t just what characters say, it’s what they leave out. But for example, the first time you see Krystal properly, her first line… well, I can’t even remember writing that, it just fell out of my fingers but it came from me thinking about her and the other characters for ages beforehand.

Which of your previous projects did it feel closest to – if any?

It hasn’t felt close to any of them if I’m honest. Every project is new, is different, is terrifying. The Casual Vacancy has a feel of one of the big 19th Century novels, Eliot or Hardy more than Dickens even though lots have made the comparison.

How much involvement did JK Rowling have with the adaptation?

She was really classy and generous in that she backed off and let me get on with it. We’d talked a lot when we met and I’d made my pitch about what I believed the story was about and who I felt was the beating heart of the narrative. She read each draft as it came in and gave notes along with everyone else giving notes. There was one, admittedly pretty crap idea I’d had that she commented wasn’t right and she was spot on, it was rubbish and by the time the note came back I’d already though ‘God, that’s sh*t’. I made some pretty big decisions about adapting the book too, I changed quite a lot and of course she was consulted. But she was very straight that she knew adapting was my job and she really did let me get on with it.

What were the challenges of adapting the book – how do you decide what to keep in and what to leave out?

With any novel the challenges are always how do you adapt. (These are the same questions you ask yourself when writing original stories!) What do you keep in, what do you leave out… what do you expand, where do you change emphasis, where do you (sometimes) change character… and sometimes change story... How do the relationships work, how do they best serve the story? You’re not going to take verbatim dialogue and events out of the novel, or I’m not anyway.

The best way I have of explaining it is if you were true to the letter of the novel then you might have twenty-seven hours of drama, but let’s face it, that’s never going to happen, and it’s just as well because it might not be any good. So, in adapting, you have to be true to the spirit of the novel. What is the spirit of the novel, what is the story… what is it about? You have to get in amongst it and kick it about, ask it questions, interrogate your own response… it doesn’t matter if it’s been adapted over fifty times like Oliver Twist or if this is the first time, you still ask ‘What is the spirit of the novel?’ ‘What is it about?’ And then you know what to leave in and out and how you want to write everyone.

Did you learn anything new from working on it?

I learn something new every time. Character, story, structure, plot, sound and silence… But sitting down for the next script, the next project, I still feel like I don’t have the first clue about anything.

The Casual Vacancy is on BBC One beginning on Sunday 15 February at 9pm and on BBC iPlayer

Find out more, meet the characters, see photos, more interviews and clips

BBC News - Taking the Casual Vacancy from the page to the screen

"The BBC Drama Production Writers’ Scheme was originally pitched to the former Head of Drama England, Kate Harwood, back in 2012. When the Writers’ Academy came to an end it was felt that BBC Drama needed a new scheme to nurture writing talent in the UK. My original idea was re-visited and submitted to the BBC Academy who agreed to fund it. Lorraine Newman came on-board as the scheme’s Executive Producer and together we devised a curriculum which includes a workshop week and six-month script commission for nine up-and-coming writers.

The writers were sourced in two ways. All the BBC In-House script teams were asked to nominate three writers who they felt would benefit from this initiative alongside a callout to agents asking them to submit the writers they felt would also benefit. All the scripts that were submitted were read and we arrived at a shortlist of sixteen writers, all of whom we met in person. Then in consultation with the heads of BBC Drama in London, the North, Wales and Scotland together with Kate Rowland, Creative Director for New Writing at the BBC Writersroom we chose nine writers to go through. The nine original talents who were selected come from film, theatre, television and radio. They come from a range of backgrounds, ages and from across the UK, so we gain as broad a range of voices and stories as possible.

Each writer will devise an idea for a series or serial for BBC One, Two or Three on Demand and be given a script fee, a script editor and an Executive Producer. The script editor will act as their mentor during the initial phase in which they write two drafts of a long-form treatment before then moving on to write a full script, at which point the Executive Producer will come on board. The full six months therefore work as an intensive development period with the final outcome being nine television scripts. Of course it would be amazing if these get picked up for production, but our primary aim is to back the writers we feel confident have a strong authorial voice, who all have great stories in them that they are passionate to tell everyone and who want to tell these through the medium of television.

This is crucial for the BBC as it is investing in the writers of the future, giving them an actual script commission and asking them to be bold and write what they are passionate about. We told them to think about the script they’ve always wanted to write, the story that they believe needs to be told on British television now – that’s the script we want to read! It’s a tremendously valuable investment in the future of writing talent, not just for BBC Drama but also for everyone in Television."

Esther Springer (Producer, BBC Drama London)

BBC Continuing Drama Writers' Shadow Schemes

"We run one Shadow Scheme for each of the BBC's Continuing Drama shows – EastEnders, Doctors, Casualty and Holby City over the course of the year.

The Shadow Schemes are a way to mirror the show’s writing process by producing an episode from which the writer will be assessed for a commission. Writers learn the necessary skills on how to write for the shows.  The training includes writers’ workshops, lectures and exercises on storytelling and the show format. We invite lead writers from the shows to talk about their experience of writing for the show and pass on any useful and valuable tips.  The writers also have a formal induction on the show, including a set tour, and then they’re taken through the script development process."

Rachelle Constant (Development Editor, BBC Continuing Drama)

Find out more about the Shadow Scheme for Casualty in this blog by Olly Perkin

Find out more about the Holby City Shadow Scheme in this blog by Laura Turner

Original Drama Shorts on BBC iPlayer

"When the first series of Original Drama Shorts went out on iPlayer in March 2014 it was the first time that Drama Production had made authored, original content for online, unconnected to an existing brand. Our brief was to produce three high quality, short films by new talent specifically for BBC iPlayer. Finding opportunities to work with up-and-coming writers, especially those with a strong or distinctive voice, is one of our biggest challenges in Drama and the idea of a strand dedicated to identifying the most promising new writing talent was enormously appealing. 

The shorts also give us the chance to be more experimental, to develop ideas that are suited to a shorter duration and that wouldn’t work in conventional television hour or half hour slots. We hoped that the shorts would inspire people to share them and that provoked much discussion of what makes us want to pass content on. We knew that the films needed to be confident and extrovert enough to hold their own right from the opening seconds. In the end our most important criteria was originality – have we seen this before? Series one of the shorts comprised of: Flea, by Cat Jones, written entirely in verse, My Jihad, by Shakeel Ahmed, a Muslim RomCom and Tag by Katherine Chandler, set in a school at the end of its life where two teachers are playing a final game of ‘It’. 

The second series of Original Drama Shorts is in development and will film in February 2015."

Catherine Moulton (Development Producer)

Watch the first series of Original Drama Shorts on BBC iPlayer

Read a blog by Shakeel Ahmed, writer of My Jihad

Read a blog by Cat Jones, writer of Flea

Read the scripts for all three Original Drama Shorts

The plan for Our World War was to take the formula of Our War; a BAFTA winning documentary series that used self-shot footage of young soldiers to provide an insight into life for British troops in Afghanistan, and apply it to the First World War.

With any factual piece, research is key. Although I was hopeful going into this that my experience of watching Band of Brothers all the way through several times would be enough, it quickly became apparent there was much to learn. How many men are in a company? How many companies in a division? Is a Captain more important than a Lieutenant? How do you spell Colonel?! All these questions and more required answering. In this respect I was helped (and, subsequently, ruined for future projects) by the fact that a whole year’s worth of research had already been done for me by the BBC, instantly making a lifetime of diligent licence fee payments absolutely worth it. The basic ideas for the episodes were in place – episode one would be about Britain’s first battle of the war, Mons. Episode two would follow a young volunteer from Manchester named Paddy Kennedy, and episode three would be about a tank crew fighting in the battle of Amiens. Each had its challenges. There were hard-cast facts that we wanted to put on screen, but each episode needed to be given a structure and driven through with the kind of dramatic beats that real life sometimes didn’t provide. In this respect episodes two and three, whose stories stretch over much longer periods of time that the 24 hours depicted in episode one, were the trickiest. We had to fight harder to provide a satisfying dramatic narrative whilst remaining true to the real-life soldiers (and the ever-watchful eye of the BBC factual department). Men who, in real life, probably never met, were re-cast as good friends, possible doomed romances with girls back home were invented, no nonsense captains were imagined up, but all of them served a factual spine that had grown from the letters and memoirs of the real soldiers whose stories we were telling.

The producers checked with the families of all of the men whose lives we dramatized, making sure they were happy both before and after the films were made. Everyone’s been really on-board with the project and understanding of the realities of adapting their relative’s lives to screen. Private Paddy Kennedy’s daughter was pleased to have us tell his story and only had one stipulation – that we didn’t make him a Tory…

In the process of researching the piece I discovered something about my own family history. My great uncle, Henry E. Atkinson, had been a soldier when the war broke out, and was in fact stationed with the 1st Lincolns just outside of Mons when the fighting began. He would fight on until 1915 when, as the War Office wrote to inform his mother, in a letter cruel with brevity and implied horror, he died of ‘wounds’ in a German Prisoner of War camp. Last year the Courts and Tribunals Service released thousands of letters and wills from British soldiers that had been censored and never delivered. I looked to see if any of our characters were amongst them, they weren’t, but by chance my great uncle was, and a letter he’d written shortly before his death finally, a hundred years late, found its way home to his family. My Grandfather lived to be 94, and to his dying day he never failed to be reduced to tears recounting the time his brother came to say goodbye to him at the school gates before he went off to France, never to be seen again. The idea of my great uncle’s letter to his mother and siblings being kept back from them was heart breaking, and this idea became a foundation for the series, of which soldier’s correspondence and memories were so important. In episode three, Private Chas Rowland finds a letter on the body of a dead soldier and decides to deliver it home safely. Chas is real, the letter and soldier are fictional, but inspired by my great uncle. Similarly, I used large parts of my great uncle’s letter as basis for a letter home from the real-life character of Henry Delaney in episode two, which is drawn from the extensive written memories of Private Paddy Kennedy. It’s a hodge-podge of facts and drama but hopefully one that respectfully provides some insight and truth into the men’s stories and their experiences of war.

One of the things we wanted to do with Our World War was create something that would appeal to a younger audience who perhaps wouldn’t be tuning in to other centenary dramas or documentaries. One of the core ideas for me was that we’ve spent the last ten years or so sending young men and women to fight and die overseas in a war many people have since struggled to understand and defend. A hundred years ago we did much the same (though that’s about as far as the WW1/Afghanistan/Iraq comparisons should probably go). The fact is there are still lessons to be learnt from the First World War and it’s important that they’re not just learnt by people who read Max Hastings books and watch Jeremy Paxman documentaries.

To speak to this audience we wanted to make a World War One drama unlike any other, with a look and feel that was truly unique for this conflict. To do this we took filming techniques based on the immediate, documentary, style of Our War, we used contemporary songs on the soundtrack, and tried to inject the characters with as much life as possible. Too often it seems like World War One is presented as staid and ornate. It feels like sometimes programme makers treat ‘being in World War One’ as a character trait in and of itself. The fact is many of the characters are kids, and, yes, they existed before various sexual and cultural revolutions gave birth to the concept of ‘teenagers’, but they were still young men, fighting a war, stuck together. They needed to feel like young people today, not sepia toned relics of some distant past. A bit of a short cut to this is the language, notably the cursing (which is factually accurate). We had a ‘swear check’ before filming to make sure the BBC was happy. This involved a long conversation with me and one of the producers, who was sat on a bus at the time whispering obscenities furtively into his phone, checking how key to my creative vision they were (answer: pretty f**king very).

We wanted to make it a realistic depiction of what it must have been like back then, but we didn’t want to be grandiose about it. There’s an argument that it’s almost impossible to put combat on screen without glamourizing it, even unintentionally. Everything about the medium of TV and film; the camera angles, the music, the sound effects, choreography and stunt work, all of it makes it exciting and can, if you’re not careful, make it look a little bit too much like fun. It was important to us not to be overly nationalistic, overly chest beating. World War One was a global tragedy, a class based war that became a meat grinder for an entire generation of young men. We wanted to commemorate, not celebrate, and hopefully help people – the sort of people who, a hundred years ago, might have been sent to fight and die themselves – to understand just what it was like for those who were there.
 

Our World War starts on BBC Three on Thurs 7th Aug at 9pm.

Our World War is part of the BBC's season of programming marking 100 years since the First World War.

See clips from Our World War here.

In The Club has been in my brain for a long time just waiting for the right time to give birth. I had the idea round about the same time I had the idea for Fat Friends but there was more of an appetite for Fat Friends at the time and so In The Club was put on the back burner.

It didn’t go away though, it just kept growing as an idea and the premise kept shifting. Post The Syndicate 2 when Polly and Ben asked what else I wanted to write, without hesitation I said I want to write about new life - it’s called In The Club and it’s about a group of prospective parents who are in their last trimester of pregnancy and meet at a NHS Parent Craft group.

They’re ordinary people whose lives are about to change forever. It’s also about the relationships that are formed; people clinging to each other at a time when they are about to step off into the abyss.

I’ve always wanted to write about birth as it’s a life-changing situation, no matter who you are; whether you’re a schoolgirl living in a high-rise council flat or a 46-year-old rich business woman - your life will never be the same again. Pregnancy and birth are not discerning, the intellectual and well-read woman can often have the worst birth and the younger know-sod-alls just get on with it and out pops a 10-pound baby. The fact is there are very few ‘lessons’ on how to give birth and be a parent. We study for three or four years for a degree and yet we’re supposed to know instinctively how to give birth and be a good parent – arguably one of the most important roles we’ll ever have in life. The truth is young or old, we’re all terrified of it – male and female alike.

Private parts of our body usually associated with pleasure and intimacy are suddenly exposed for all to prod, measure and examine. Your body is taken over by an alien, there are bodily fluids involved and the whole thing seems like a total physical impossibility anyway. Then, having done the impossible, you’re landed with the responsibility of looking after another human being; one that can barely function, bar feeding, pooing and crying. Of course there’s the miracle of instant bonding that we rely on so much, and we cross our fingers that with that bonding comes an instant download on baby care and child psychology that’ll see you through till they’re 18 or 40!

When I had my first child I was 16. I was five months pregnant before I told anybody other than my then boyfriend. I don’t know what I thought was going to happen. I think, I thought it might just go away. When I did eventually fess up my mum took me to a clinic where everything was confirmed and I was given a hospital date. Meanwhile, I was told I had to attend a slide show at the clinic. The slide show was called ‘To Janet a Son’. I sat in a room with nine or 10 older women who seemed to know each other or at least they talked to one another, men weren’t invited in those days. I sat by myself, I was too young and shy to talk to anyone. I watched the colour slide show. If I was frightened before I saw it, I was absolutely terrified after. As I walked home the inevitability sunk in – that was going to happen to me in a couple of month’s time. I felt like throwing myself down a quarry. A month later my hospital appointment came through... After the examination the nurse told me they didn’t have a bed for me at the hospital, so I’d have to have the baby at home. ‘Home’ turned out to be my new husband Anthony’s parent’s council house - three weeks after we’d confessed I was pregnant, we were married in Leeds register office by special licence. That’s what you did then! Forty people came to the wedding and the do was at the co-op. Mum and Syble (Anthony’s mum) shared the cost. We didn’t have a penny, Anthony was an apprentice motor mechanic and I was barely out of school.

So I gave birth to Yvonne in Anthony’s single bed, with Sister Bower - a big bustling midwife - shouting orders at the young student midwife while Ricky the dog barked and tried to bite her feet. Meanwhile, Anthony was downstairs trying to calm my hysterical mum. The birth was long but pretty straightforward and I had my nine-pound baby girl. Sister Bower handed the placenta in a kidney bowl to the nerve-wracked student midwife and she dropped it on the floor. The blood went all over the bedroom wallpaper and it stayed there for the next two years until Anthony’s parent’s had enough money to have it redecorated.

I wanted to make In The Club as real as possible, so we worked with a team of midwives who were there from script to screen. They were also consulted about the prosthetics (pregnancy bumps) which each of our pregnant actors had specially made for them. They were made out of a special type of silicone so that they were the right weight and feel, and were painted by artists assisted by the midwives. Sometimes by the end of the day the poor actors would be really physically exhausted from carrying about their prosthetic bump. But at least they could take it off at the end of the day!

I hope people watch In The Club and stay with it; the drama relies purely on the characters I’ve created and the situation they’re in. Hopefully it’s a situation most people will be able to relate to, even be familiar with, one way or another. Certainly it’s a situation your mother’s familiar with. It’s the drama of life itself and it could change your life. You might just decide to have a baby, or another baby as Katherine Parkinson did.

For me, birth still has to be the ultimate creation in life.

Read the script for In the Club, Episode 1 in our online Script Library.

Find out more about the Characters from In The Club.

Watch Clips from the show here.

Catch up on BBC iPlayer.

I wanted the series to provoke feelings in all of us, we recognise these dilemmas that are shown, and ask ourselves “what would we do?”, in these situations. I think Love and attraction are very difficult themes to get right in film. If it’s not working it’s because audiences can see though the fake, through any insincerity of feeling.

The chemistry and feelings between the characters is something that has to palpably work and to be seen on screen to work for the film to be successful.
This is why love story’s are hard and therefore a great challenge as a film maker. You may have every element right, the story and character, the sub plot, and the music, but if the on screen magic between the lovers is not there, then it’s simply a very unsatisfactory end result.

However I have always felt that my approach to film-making is well suited to being able to conjure up that on screen magic. To showing and expressing love in a filmic way, a way that is truthful and unique.

I like to work in a way that puts the actors in a place where they have to call upon their own emotions and personal feelings within the scene. This brings a particular reality and authenticity to the work.Because we are all working in the moment, constructing the shape and detail of the scene just before we shoot, no one really knows what the outcome of the scene is truthfully going to be before it is played out.
An actor can be presented with a line or an action from the other actor that they aren’t expecting. This means that they tend to “live” the scene is a more real and surprising way. They are fully embroiled in the “now ness” of it. This is why first takes are so intriguing and possess a rawness that we then refine as the subsequent takes go on.

We shoot the scenes very quickly and instinctively. There isn’t time to think or analyse or process. The actors have to react quickly, like it is in real life, albeit with the knowledge of the scenario being played out. The actors therefore call upon I believe, more personal feelings.
There are never that many takes, because the scene tends to lose that freshness that I so love as the takes go on. The scene becomes predictable for the actors, more known, more acted and therefore more conventional and less interesting.

Often the scenes have no rigidly designated beginning or end. We can keep going until things run aground. This gives an emotional freedom that can only serve to help the truth of the scene and the voracity of the characters own feelings.

The process of working this way can prove very testing, and no actor that hasn’t done it before, really knows what it’s going to be like until they do it.

Part of getting a series like this together, is talking to the actors at length and being open about what it is you want to achieve. Gaining their trust. I think they all ultimately came to it with complete faith and generosity for that vision, as well as a lot of nervousness, as they had to have a willingness to take risks.

I like to create work that is not necessarily based on personal experience, although there is a lot of personal feeling in them, but on an innate curiosity for that subject matter. The sort of thing that you play out in your head and wonder what the outcome would be of a certain occurrence in someone’s life. With this series it has been a way of exploring the what ifs of life.

They are in many ways a discovery for me. Certainly they are the kinds of films that i would want to go and see and maybe haven’t been able to.
By setting it in a small seaside town, the series shows the crossover that exists in so many people’s lives.

Everyone seemingly is involved in this cycle of love, temptation and transgression.
The decision to set it in Margate came a bit later, during a visit to the town that I’d grown up in. A place that is full of all kinds of emotions for me, both good and bad as all home towns are in a way.

Mine particularly so however because as a child growing up there I believed it to be the centre of the world. As a thriving seaside resort back then it seemed to be glamorous and vibrant and colorful and amazing.Of course that image of the place changed as I grew up and as the town deteriorated with the demise of the holiday business. I had sort of forgotten about it and what it was.

On a visit I made in early 2011 however I saw it in a very different light. I was able to divorce myself from the past and all the memories that came with that, and saw it as a magical place of fantasy, a place with a real natural beauty.

There is a tangible reason why the artist Turner lived and painted in the town. The sunsets and the light have a stunning quality about them.
It’s a place where the beach and the sea are so dominant, that there is somehow a greater possibility about everything. There are no limitations. The realities of life can be put on hold easier in Margate, there is a real romance about the place.

Given that the place was so emotionally charged for me already I just knew that the series had to be set there.
The whole experience of filming there was understandably very personal, and very precious in so many ways, and I believe all that has imbued itself in each of the films.

I hope the romance and the truth, and the belief that I have of into the series will come through in a unique way.

Dominic Savage is the writer and director of brand new 5-part improvisational drama, True Love - showing all this week on BBC One. Watch episodes 1 and 2 back on BBC iPlayer.