Latest News from BBC Writers - Summer 2024 (2024)

Last week we came to the end of reading scripts from our latest Open Call, which closed for submissions on 5th December 2023. Everyone who entered a script should have received an email to let you know the outcome, please check your inbox (including the junk folder as our emails can sometimes end up there).

As always, the BBC Writers team and our freelance script-readers were overwhelmed by the incredible creativity and imagination on display. It’s an honour and a privilege to get to read such diverse and wide-ranging work. It’s always challenging to make decisions about which script makes it through to the next round, but ultimately these decisions are based on the criteria set out in our terms and conditions and our reading team are briefed to put personal preference aside and be as objective as is possible when dealing with creative work.

Remember that we are looking for writers to develop rather than specific projects. We often receive feedback from writers who have not made it through this time that their script has been picked up elsewhere and is in active development or is being produced and our response to that is “Well done!”. That is the best possible outcome for your work. Our Open Call should be regarded as just one possible route, and you should always be exploring other avenues and outlets to get your work in front of an audience.

We’re currently in the process of inviting writers to interviews for a potential place in our next Scripted development group. All writers who reach Stage Three and Four of the Open Call reading process are also considered for a place in our next Voices group. As part of the selection process for Scripted and Voices we also consider writers we’ve scouted through theatre (including the Edinburgh Fringe) but the vast majority come through the Open Call, and this remains our key annual talent search and the best way to get on our radar.

We asked one of the newest members of the script-reading team to write up their thoughts on the Open Call for our blog, which includes some great advice and pointers.

Our current Voices group (who were selected following the previous Open Call which closed in December 2022) began working with us in January with a programme of in-person and online sessions. They’ve each been developing a professional series outline document which will then enable them to go on to write a new pilot episode script to submit in the next Open Call if they wish. A subset of the group also gets the opportunity to work on this script with the support of a trainee Script Editor in collaboration with the NFTS. We’ve really enjoyed working with this group of talented Voices and will be announcing their names in mid to late June.

Also underway are the current Scripted group who are reaching the end of their programme of scheduled workshops and now get to work on writing a new original spec’ script with the support of a professional Script Editor. We’ll announce the names of this group in the autumn.

Last September we ran our callout for credited and/or agented writers to take part in our Pilot programme for more experienced writers. The twelve writers have now been chosen and each writer has been partnered with an independent production company. They’ll now be given a paid commission to write the pilot episode of a potential drama or comedy/drama series or serial for the BBC with the hope that this will be taken onto the BBC drama development slate. This year, in addition to the usual ten writers on Pilot we are excited to be working with an additional two writers, which has been made possible by funding from our partners at Screen Scotland.

One of the writers who previously took part in Pilot in 2019 (under its old name) is Daf James. While on the Pilot scheme he developed his original series Lost Boys and Fairies with Leeds-based indie Duck Soup Films, following which it was greenlit with filming taking place in 2023. Lost Boys and Fairies is coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Monday 3rd June. Daf had previously taken part in our first ever BBC Writers Welsh Voices development group. You can watch an interview with him below.

In other exciting news from our Alumni, Billy Mager (who was part of our Scripted group in 2022/23) has had his original series Reunion greenlit with filming beginning last week in and around Sheffield. The fabulous cast has also just been announced. Billy really is the exception that proves the rule as Reunion was submitted through our Open Call and has gone all the way – this is not normal! Congratulations to Billy and we can’t wait to watch.

Also coming up on BBC One is The Jetty written by Cat Jones and starring Jenna Coleman. Cat was a winner of our Alfred Bradley Bursary for Radio back in 2011 and subsequently wrote an original short drama for BBC iPlayer and has since gained credits on shows including EastEnders, Waterloo Road and Harlots.

We’ve been out and about around the country, with sessions including at the BBC’s regular Production Unlocked events – recently in Birmingham, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow and Leeds. We’ve also run sessions at Birkbeck in London and in Ballymena in Northern Ireland.

One area of outreach that we were finding we just couldn’t keep up with was running bespoke sessions at universities and colleges for screenwriting BA and post-graduate students. So going forward we’ll run an online session for students once each academic term

Looking ahead we’ll be at the BBC Comedy Festival in Glasgow later this week, the Hay Festival over the Bank Holiday weekend, and the Celtic Media Festival in Cardiff and the first Muslim International Film Festival in London in June. We’ll also be heading to the Edinburgh Fringe in August and are delighted to be partnering with the Popcorn Group again on the annual Popcorn Award for New Writing at the Fringe. Submissions are open now and close at 10am on 21st June.

Also open for submissions until 30th June is the Hot House opportunity from Climate Spring – find out more details.

On the digital front you can read and watch a new interview with the creator of BBC One drama The Responder, Tony Schumacher. Tony was himself a member of our Voices North group a few years ago. Coming up we’ve got more new filmed interviews including Lauren Sequeira (Domino Day) and Matt Barry (Men Up, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina). We've also just published a new interview with the writers behind popular Coventry-set school drama Phoenix Rise - Matt Evans and Perrie Balthazar. They explain the show's development and share some great advice.

You can readPhoenix Risescripts in our ever-popular online script library. Other new additions include Sherwood (James Graham), Steeltown Murders (Ed Whitmore)and Wreck (Ryan J. Brown) plus a huge drop of over 200 scripts from Doctor Who and related shows as part of the Whoniverse project to open up the archive!

A good way to get an overview of our recent work is to download and read our Annual Report for 2022/23 which includes the names of the writers we’ve worked with plus key facts and figures.

Have a great summer and I’ll be back with more news in the autumn.

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