Hilary Salmon interview

In Broadcast, Katherine Rushton talks to BBC drama producer Hilary Salmon.

Salmon admits she looks at Channel 4’s Coming Up strand with envy because there is nothing quite like it at the BBC - while new writers can develop on continuing drama series, it is difficult for them to get their own, authored pieces off the ground. “A lot of my early work was done for those single film strands. I’m not sure something like Play For Today is required, but a new writing strand - I’d love to have something like that, something that was specifically for them.”

It would be hard to know what to drop to fund it, she notes, but all the same “there is a gap” between the BBC’s public service obligation to cater for audiences now, and its equally important obligation to develop writers for the future. Starting out is hard enough already.