BBC Writers – Our Place in the BBC and the Television Drama Market

How do you find your place at the BBC?

BBC Writers occupies a unique position in the UK screenwriting landscape. Many in the wider writing community are familiar with us and some of our work; but when I am lucky enough to speak at public events, I am often asked about how the BBC Writersroom – in practice – fits into BBC Drama Commissioning and the wider BBC. I hope I can fill some of the gaps in people’s knowledge of us, how we fit in and what we can and can’t do when working with screenwriters.

How to do it?

Our mission is to work with emerging television writers and to connect with those who we believe are beginning to find their voice and are ready to take on the unique challenges of writing television scripts.

We’re looking for people who can bring the best characters and stories to the screen, and who are not afraid to both challenge and entertain the BBC’s wide audience. We achieve this through our various groups and projects – for example Scripted (formerly known as Drama Room), Writers’ Access Group, Voices or the Pilot Programme (formerly known as The TV Drama Writers Programme); and most of our writers come to our attention through our annual script submission window – the Open Call – which is due to open between 5 November and 3 December 2024.

We also try to ensure that we are exposed to as much new writing as possible by attending plays, short films, script readings, writing festivals and meeting writers. To do this, staff from each of our offices (Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, London and Salford) are constantly working with writers and writing in their specific regions of the country. Each office is headed by a Commissioning Executive or Development Executive, whose role is to work with and develop talent in their local area, while also working with the relevant Drama Commissioning Editor to help emerging writers understand and shape what BBC Drama might look like in the future.

In addition, we aim to provide aspiring writers with the tools and opportunities to focus on writing and make their mark – whether that’s in the form of online resources, writing opportunities, or the BBC Writers script library, which allows writers to read and enjoy over a thousand scripts from a range of media and dramatic genres.

How do the authors you work with implement their scripts?

We always emphasise that at BBC Writers we develop writers, NOT projects.

Writers often think that when they send us a script, we read it with the intention of creating a specific script for broadcast. This is not the case. Although BBC Writers operates within the Drama Commissioning department, we do not submit projects to them. The Commissioning teams only consider ideas and scripts that come from production companies – or BBC Studiosor one of several independent drama companies. Commissioning editors take pitches from these production companies and make decisions about projects based on a combination of idea, writer, and company. They are judged not only on the talent of the writer, but also on the talent and history of those who will be responsible for creating the show.

So, for example, if you have an idea for a drama series that you want to pitch to the BBC, you first need to interest a production company in it. If someone at that company – maybe a development manager or an executive producer – thinks it’s a great idea and believes you can write it, they’ll work with you to develop the series and shape it into something they know the BBC is looking for. You should start getting paid once you’ve written more than a one-page outline.

The company will then present the project to the BBC Commissioning Editor who, if they like the project and believe in the talent of the writer and producer(s), will commission further paid development work, including scripts. Ultimately, if the development process creates a brilliant programme, and the Drama Commissioner and Controller of the Channel believe it will work for our viewers, and the space is found, and the funding is secured (including potentially a co-commission with another broadcaster), and by then great talent has come along and all the pieces have fallen into place, then it will be ‘greenlit’: in other words, the commission will be confirmed and the project will go into production. As you can see, it is a long, difficult, competitive and – at times – frustrating journey.

Does BBC Writers help build relationships with production companies?

Yes. Independent production companies are always looking for new talent who can deliver original and exciting drama. For many companies and producers, the mere knowledge that a writer has been selected for one of our development groups is sometimes enough to pique their interest in a particular writer. From our perspective, we aim for writers in our development programs to have varying levels of involvement with indies, depending on the group they are in. For example, those in one of our Voices groups will begin to familiarize themselves with some of the indies and how they work; while writers in the Pilot Program, which develops our most experienced writers, will work one-on-one with one of our indie production partners.

And how does this fit in with the rest of the BBC?

British-made drama is a key part of the BBC’s strategy to provide licence payers with the best British scripts; and BBC Writers’ role is to ensure that writers in this country have the skills and knowledge to better approach their creative careers. By providing writers with key skills and opportunities early in their careers, we believe that we will be rewarded with excellent British drama in the future.