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Be Inspired

Watch interviews and get top tips from established writers and other Industry professionals

Steven Moffat, Abi Morgan, Chris ChibnallPeter Bowker, Russell T Davies, Kay Mellor, Sarah PhelpsJed Mercurio, Nicole Taylor and many more writers share their advice on crafting a great script.

Browse the videos in this section and find out what inspires Britain's top TV, radio and theatre writers.  Get advice on overcoming writer's block, making your characters tick and structuring your scripts. 

We also interview the commissioners, agents and producers who have some great tips on what they look for in a great script. 

Television, Radio and Theatre Writers

  • Sally Abbott

    EastEnders and Casualty writer, creator of ´óÏó´«Ã½ One's The Coroner.
  • Levi David Addai

    We spoke to Levi David Addai (Youngers, My Murder, Dark Money) at the TV Drama Writers' Festival in July 2014.
  • Jesse Armstrong

    Creator and showrunner of the Emmy, BAFTA and Golden Globe award-winning Succession.
  • Gemma Arrowsmith

    Comedy writer and performer Gemma Arrowsmith on her work on children's comedies DNN (Definitely Not Newsround) and Class Dismissed.
  • Simon Ashdown

    BAFTA award-nominated EastEnders writer, plus Holby City and Funland.
  • Dane Baptiste

    Dane explains how his comedy show Sunny D made it to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Three.
  • Matthew Barry

    The writer of 'Men Up' and 'The Guest' on his career in the UK and USA
  • Katie Baxendale

    Writer of 'London Bridge', 'Sugar Rush' and 'From Darkness'.
  • Tom Bidwell

    Writer of E4's 'My Mad Fat Diary and adaptor of Watership Down.
  • Helen Black

    Writer of Time series 2 and Life And Death In The Warehouse
  • Peter Bowker

    Screenwriter of Blackpool, Flesh and Blood, Occupation and Marvellous.
  • Jamie Brittain

    Writer of Skins on his techniques.
  • Danny Brocklehurst

    The writer of The Driver, Exile, Shameless, Clocking Off and Ordinary Lies explains how he got his first TV Drama credit when he was working as a journalist.
  • James Cary

    TV and Radio comedy writer known for Think the Unthinkable, Hut 33, Miranda and Bluestone 42.
  • Chris Chibnall

    Chris Chibnall (Broadchurch, United, Doctor Who, Torchwood) spoke to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Writersroom at the TV Drama Writers' Festival in July 2013.
  • Russell T Davies

    We spoke to Russell T Davies at our Wales Writers' Festival in December 2019.
  • The Dawson Bros.

    Sibling writing partners with credits on Ant and Dec and 8 Out of 10 Cats.
  • Andrew Davies

    Adaptor and writer of War and Peace, House of Cards, Pride and Prejudice, Vanity Fair, A Very Peculiar Practice, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, The Line of Beauty, Tipping the Velvet, South Riding, Mr Selfridge and many many more.
  • Abigail Docherty

    Radio drama writer and playwright.
  • Andrew Ellard

    Writer and script editor who has worked on shows including Red Dwarf, The IT Crowd and Miranda.
  • Bryan Elsley

    The writer of Skins, Nature Boy and The Crow Road talks about why he writes, how he develops characters and gives his advice for emerging writers.
  • Kayode Ewumi

    Creator of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Three's Enterprice and the writer and star of #HoodDocumentary.
  • Rachel Flowerday

    Writer for Holby City, Doctors, Casualty, EastEnders, Father Brown, The Moonstone and Malory Towers.
  • Peter Foott

    Writer and director of The Young Offenders.
  • Brent Forrester

    The writer and showrunner of The Ben Stiller Show, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, The Office US shares his top comedy writing tips.
  • Emma Frost

    The White Queen and Jamaica Inn writer, Emma Frost talks to us about her journey from fine artist to script editor.
  • Lucy Gannon

    Writer of The Best of Men, Soldier Soldier and Peak Practice.
  • Julie Gearey

    TV writer Julie Gearey (Prisoners’ Wives, Secret Diary of a Call Girl).
  • Andrea Gibb

    Writer of Call the Midwife, Swallows and Amazons and Elizabeth is Missing.
  • Matthew Graham

    Writer of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.
  • Tony Grounds

    Writer of Our Girl, Births Marriages & Deaths, Bodily Harm and Canterbury Tales.
  • Matthew Hall

    Creator and screenwriter of hit ´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales and S4C drama Keeping Faith.
  • Sian Harries

    Writer of Man Down and Tourist Trap.
  • Lisa Holdsworth

    Writer of New Tricks, Waterloo Road, Fat Friends and Emmerdale.
  • Richard Hurst and James Cary

    The writing duo talk about their comedy drama Bluestone 42.
  • Daf James

    Daf James introduces his upcoming ´óÏó´«Ã½ One drama Lost Boys and Fairies and talks about his writing journey with the ´óÏó´«Ã½.
  • Tony Jordan

    Writer of EastEnders, Hustle, Life on Mars and The Passing-Bells.
  • Colette Kane

    The writer of Moving On, Indian Detective and Broken on the need for more authored TV drama by women and to pass on any advice for other aspiring writers.
  • Dennis Kelly

    The writer of Pulling, Matilda the Musical, Utopia describes how he develops characters, and why the character's voice is the key.
  • Ayub Khan-Din

    Watch highlights from our Q&A with screenwriter and playwright Ayub Khan-Din from 2011.
  • Steven Knight

    Creator of Peaky Blinders and Taboo and adaptor of Dickens novels including A Christmas Carol.
  • Nick Leather

    The writer of ´óÏó´«Ã½ One's Nightsleeper, The Control Room and Murdered for Being Different.
  • Joseph Lidster

    Writer on Doctor Who, Torchwood and children's TV dramas including The Sarah Jane Adventures, Wizards vs Aliens, Eve and Hetty Feather.
  • Barbara Machin

    Writer of Waking the Dead and Casualty on her inspirations at the TV Drama Writers' Festival in July 2014.
  • Tony Marchant

    Writer of Garrow's Law, Mark of Cain and Holding On.
  • Jimmy McGovern

    BAFTA-award winning writer of The Street, Cracker, Accused, Common and Broken.
  • Kay Mellor, OBE

    Writer and director of Band of Gold, The Syndicate, Love, Lies and Records and In the Club.
  • Jed Mercurio

    We spoke to the writer of Line of Duty, Bodies, Cardiac Arrest and Bodyguard at the TV Drama Writers' Festival in July 2014.
  • Paula Milne

    Writer of 'Die Kinder', 'The Politician's Wife', 'The Fragile Heart', 'Second Sight', 'Endgame' and 'The Virgin Queen.
  • Dominic Mitchell

    Writer Dominic Mitchell and director Jonny Campbell on In The Flesh
  • Peter Moffat

    Writer of Silk, Criminal Justice, Cambridge Spies and The Village.
  • Steven Moffat

    Sherlock co-creator and Doctor Who writer.
  • Debbie Moon

    Debbie explains how ´óÏó´«Ã½ Writersroom helped develop the idea which led to Wolfblood being produced by C´óÏó´«Ã½.
  • Abi Morgan

    Emmy Award-winning writer of The Hour, The Iron Lady, Sex Traffic, White Girl, Royal Wedding, Suffragette, River, The Split.
  • Hattie Naylor

    Award winning playwright Hattie Naylor talks to Jeremy Mortimer as part of Radio 4 Extra's '´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Young Writers: 25 Years On' season.
  • Patrick Ness

    The creator of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Three's Class Patrick Ness shares some great screenwriting advice at a BAFTA Cymru event.
  • Alice Nutter

    Theatre and television writer of series such as The Street, Moving On, Accused, Trust.
  • Debbie Oates

    Coronation Street and Primeval writer, Debbie Oates on how how casting your favourite actors in our head can help you overcome obstacles in developing characters.
  • Sarah Phelps

    Writer of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s latest Agatha Christie adaptations, The Dublin Murders, Oliver Twist, EastEnders, Being Human and The Crimson Field.
  • Tim Prager

    Writer of Silent Witness, Dalziel and Pascoe, Dangerfield, The Ambassador & Vendetta.
  • Adil Ray

    Creator, writer and star of ´óÏó´«Ã½ One sitcom, Citizen Khan.
  • Emma Reeves

    Emma Reeves, writer on Tracy Beaker, Young Dracula, The Dumping Ground, Eve, Hetty Feather and The Worst Witch on her experiences.
  • Tim Renkow

    US-born writer, actor and comedian, star and co-writer of Jerk.
  • Amy Roberts & Loren McLaughlan

    The writing duo on how they met and got their first writing break.
  • Tony Schumacher

    The writer of The Responder shares his advice for new writers and how he approached The Responder series two.
  • Lauren Sequeira

    Creator and writer of Domino Day talks about character, genre, and writing to a soundtrack.
  • Brian Sibley

    The writer and adaptor for radio of iconic books including Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings', CS Lewis' 'The Chronicles of Narnia' and Mervyn Peake's 'Gormenghast'.
  • Frank Spotnitz

    Man in the High Castle creator and X-Files writer Frank Spotnitz shares his tips on getting through problems in your writing.
  • Frog Stone

    The comedy writer and performer on her 2017 show Bucket.
  • Nicole Taylor

    BAFTA and RTS winning screenwriter of dramas including The C Word, 3 Girls and The Nest.
  • Jack Thorne

    Writer of The Fades, Cast-offs, Skins and This Is England '86 on his 14 hour writing days and how he overcomes obstacles in his scripts.
  • Jude Tindall

    Writer of Shakespeare & Hathaway, Father Brown, Casualty, Land Girls and Doctors.
  • Sally Wainwright

    Writer of Last Tango in Halifax, Scott & Bailey, Gentleman Jack and Happy Valley.
  • Josh Weinstein

    Writer and showrunner for C´óÏó´«Ã½'s 'Strange Hill High' and former writer and showrunner on The Simpsons and Futurama.
  • Toby Whithouse

    Being Human writer and creator, creator of The Game and writer on Doctor Who.
  • Jack and Harry Williams

    The sibling writing duo Jack and Harry Williams on their drama series The Missing and One of Us.
  • Roger Williams

    Roger is a Welsh playwright and screenwriter and was shortlisted for a Writers’ Guild Award in 2018 for his ground breaking crime drama series BANG.
  • Roy Williams

    Playwright, TV and radio writer.
  • Esther Wilson

    Esther talks about how she finds her way through the story and how important it is for her to engage emotionally with what she's writing.
  • Justin Young

    Holby City, Death in Paradise and Sanditon writer and Holby City producer.

Commissioners, Agents and Producers

  • Richard Bond

    Executive Producer of factual TV and documentary programmes including Locked Up Abroad, The Unexplained Files and Get Out Alive.
  • Mark Brennan

    Mark Brennan is a literary agent specialising in film and TV writers.
  • Rab Christie

    Rab Christie is the MD of the Comedy Unit.
  • Laura Conway

    Laura, former C´óÏó´«Ã½ Development Producer, explains why C´óÏó´«Ã½ is such a great place for new writers and why writers should want to write for children's TV.
  • Jessica Dromgoole

    ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Drama Producer on what makes a great radio drama - and the possibilities writing for radio offers writers.
  • Anne Edyvean

    The former Head of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Writersroom on how we work with writers and directors across the UK.
  • Bethan Evans

    Bethan Evans is a literary agent specialising in writers for television and film.
  • Lizzie Gray

    Head of TV at Blazing Griffin and former executive producer at Sky.
  • Jeremy Howe

    Jeremy Howe, former Commissioner for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4 Drama, shares his 5 Top Tips for writing Radio Drama.
  • Kurupt FM's Top 5 Tips

    For Future Talent, Kurupt FM share their 'Top 5 Tips' on creating an online pilot and 'how to make the ´óÏó´«Ã½ love you!'
  • Philip Shelley

    Producer and Script Editor who created the Channel 4 screenwriting course.
  • Nicola Shindler

    Red Production Company founder and Chief Executive, Nicola Shindler.
  • Ben Stephenson

    The ´óÏó´«Ã½'s former Controller of Drama Commissioning with his top tips in July 2013.
  • Jane Tranter

    The co-founder of Bad Wolf productions and former head of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Fiction.
  • Neil Webster

    Co-founder of Happy Tramp, Neil is a Writer, Executive Producer, Producer and Script Editor.
  • Webseries directors

    Directors Chris Munns (Chronicles of Syntax) and Leon Maynes (Brothers with no Game) with their top tips for making web series.
  • Piers Wenger

    Controller, ´óÏó´«Ã½ TV Drama Commissioning on his tips for pitching TV drama.
  • Writing for CBeebies: Top Tips

    Director of Children's, Joe Godwin, Executive Producer, Tony Reed and Studio Director for CBeebies, Anna Perowne, share their writing tips for pre-school age children.
  • Writing for Radio - advice from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Drama North

    Scriptwriting advice from the team at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Drama North.
  • John Yorke

    John Yorke has run both ´óÏó´«Ã½ and Channel 4 drama as well as working in the Independent sector on dramas including Wolf Hall.

Writers on...

  • Adapting Classic texts

    The adaptors of the Barchester Chronicles on the challenges of adapting much-loved classics into radio dramas.
  • ´óÏó´«Ã½ Writersroom

    Established writers including Tony Marchant, Jack Thorne, Esther Wilson and Justin Young talk about how useful a resource ´óÏó´«Ã½ Writersroom is for emerging writers, and how it has helped them.
  • Desert Island DVDs

    Toby Whithouse, Jack Thorne, Esther Wilson and other TV writers tell us which boxsets or films they would bring with them if they were stranded.
  • Developing Characters

    From drawing dots, to mimicking their voices, to acting our their body language - writers including Roy Williams, Toby Whithouse, Debbie Oates and Jimmy McGovern share their techniques for bringing characters to life.
  • TV Drama

    Jimmy McGovern, Alice Nutter, Jack Thorne, Sarah Phelps and other writers talk to us about why TV dramas like The West Wing, Boys from the Black Stuff and The Wire, had such an impact on them.
  • Dealing with Writer's Block

    Jimmy McGovern, Alice Nutter, Frank Spotniz and more tell us about their experiences with writer's block and how they get through it.
  • Writing for Children

    Nathan Cockerill, Elly Brewer, Ben Ward and Paul Rose share their advice and offer top tips.
  • Writing Doctor Who

    Doctor Who writers Steven Moffat (Lead writer and Executive Producer) and Nick Lambon (Script Editor) in a live Q&A session in 2016.

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