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Our aim is to work with and develop writers at all stages of their careers towards ´óÏó´«Ã½ broadcast. Our main development schemes for early career writers are Scripted, which runs for 12 months and our six Voices groups which run for six months from our hubs across the UK. The writers in these groups are identified via our Open Call opportunity and from recommendation and talent scouting.

Our new 8-week location-specific Write Across programme has its own dedicated application window. Up to 2024, Write Across has been rolled out in Liverpool and Birmingham and the Black Country.

Our Writers' Access Group for deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent writers runs for 18 months and has its own application window, which is open every 2 years.

We also run Pilot which offers mentoring and a script commission with  or an independent production company, allowing more experienced writers the chance to develop their first original authored script for television. Again, Pilot has its own specific application window, which is open every 2 years.

In addition we run targeted opportunities for shows like , The Break on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Three, Fright Shorts in Northern Ireland, or specials, for example .  

Residential Workshops

Pre-2019 we ran writer development residentials from our bases in London, Salford, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast.  

These residentials were usually initiated by a ´óÏó´«Ã½ Commissioning or Production department approaching us and asking us to facilitate the development of ideas and pitches for a genre or strand, for example a potential new returning Radio Drama series. The writers who were invited were writers who we had already identified through our work or who were recommended by the team we were collaborating with on the residential.

Find out more about some of our past residentials from writers who took part below.

Shows & Writers

Original shows that have come through our work developing, supporting and promoting writers include:

• TV dramas: Lost Boys and Fairies, The Break,  (BAFTA winning) , , , 
• TV comedies:  (BAFTA winning), , , , 
• C´óÏó´«Ã½ dramas: , , , 
• Radio Drama series: , , , , 
• Radio Comedy series:  
• Films  (Oscar nominated),  (BAFTA nominated)

Writers have also gone to write for a huge range of existing shows and strands across the ´óÏó´«Ã½ and other broadcasters.

Developing relationships

´óÏó´«Ã½ Writers' job is to find, and develop a relationship with talented writers

Our success is gauged not only by writers going on to be commissioned and produced, but also by the strength of our continuing relationship with them. Here are a handful of the writers who we developed in our early days, and with whom we continue to have a strong relationship.

Jack Thorne 

Jack Thorne first came to the ´óÏó´«Ã½ through our Sparks radio scheme and has written award-winning work for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio. He was introduced to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Drama, eventually leading to his original series  on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Three. He has also written This is England '88, Glue, , Kiri, National Treasure and adapted His Dark Materials for ´óÏó´«Ã½ One. He was on the writer committee for our TV Drama Writer's Festival in 2013.

Watch an interview with Jack Thorne

Find out more about Jack's work 

Sarah Phelps 

Sarah Phelps came on our first Sparks radio drama scheme in 1999 and went on to write Afternoon, Friday and Woman's Hour plays for Radio 4, then 42 episodes of  on the World Service. Sarah also came on a C´óÏó´«Ã½ Comedy Drama scheme and had an original idea commissioned. She then became a core writer for . Her original First World War drama  was broadcast on ´óÏó´«Ã½ One in 2014. Recent successes include her adaptations of JK Rowling's  and Agatha Christie's , both for ´óÏó´«Ã½ One.

Watch interviews with Sarah

Find out more about Sarah's work .

Alice Nutter 

Alice Nutter - previously singer in the band Chumbawamba - was first developed through our partnership with West Yorkshire Playhouse. She wrote for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio, has since written on numerous TV dramas for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ and was on the writer committee for our TV Drama Writer's Festival.

Watch an interview with Alice

Find out more about Alice's work .

Brian Dooley 

Brian Dooley sent in his sitcom , which ran for two series on ´óÏó´«Ã½ THREE and won Brian a BAFTA. He also came on our Comedy-Drama scheme for established writers and has since written for .

Find out more about Brian's work .