World Service drama

A guest post by radio drama producer Gordon House.

Given that I spent much of my professional life working initially as producer and then as Head of the small BBC World Service Drama team, it is hardly surprising that I feel so dismayed by the announcement that from April next year World Service will no longer be broadcasting drama in their schedules. Well, that’s not strictly true; they will still transmit the winning plays in the biennial World Service play competition, but how can these prize winners feel valued in splendid isolation, with no regular output of drama against which to compare their work?

The World Service management has decided ‘with a heavy heart’ that finances are so precarious, drama must be sacrificed. I sympathise with the predicament faced by Craig Oliver, the English Controller of Global News. (Not a title, incidentally, to inspire those working under him in non-news areas!) For too long programme budgets have been salami-sliced to spread the misery evenly amongst different programme areas. While an entire year’s World Service drama budget would hardly keep the National Theatre open for a week, drama – because of its talent costs – is expensive in pure radio terms. How tempting it must be for a Controller reviewing a financial spread sheet to think of it as an expendable luxury in these cash-conscious times.

But does that justify killing off a whole genre?

Let me give you a brief history of drama on the World Service.

It appeared in the schedules from the outset of the BBC’s international broadcasting in 1932, on what was then called The Empire Service. If you were take any week at random – say the first week of June 1936 – you would find, sandwiched between a talk on Agriculture In The British Isles by Sir William Lobjoit and Idle Tears; An Interlude Of Victorian Sentimental Songs - a new play written for broadcasting by J.S.N Sewell, beguilingly entitled A Lady Loved A Swine.

Children were catered for too. The citizens of Toytown were already squabbling and making up in S.G. Hulme Beaman’s inspired children’s fantasy, which twenty years later, on the BBC Home Service, would be my first entree into the wonderful world of Radio Drama (I was a vegetarian for three years, fearful that I might otherwise be eating a close relation of Larry the Lamb). And if the whole family wanted a little gentle scaring, on Thursdays you could listen to extracts from old thrillers -The Plays Your Grandparents Loved” – performed with suitable gusto by Jenny Lyn and the wonderfully-named Tod Slaughter.

The Empire Service became the General Overseas Service; its listings magazine changed from The Empire Programme Pamphlet through World Radio to London Calling. And drama flourished. In the mid-1950’s Peter Forster would be writing a page preview of each week’s drama offerings – a rich mix indeed; not simply half hour plays and the early episodes of a new series – “a story of country folk” called The Archers, but major dramatisations of great works of literature and the stage (Donald Wolfit starring as Pecksniff in Martin Chuzzlewit; John Gielgud and Rex Harrison in The Importance of Being Earnest ). And on 2nd December 1954, the General Overseas Service re-broadcast an original radio drama, the winner of the 1954 Prix Italia, starring Richard Burton, and arguably the greatest radio play ever written – Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas, who had died at a tragically early age the previous year.

But what the network lacked was a Radio Drama Unit of its own; the plays it broadcast – largely of British origin – were made for a strictly British audience. This was a problem both technical and editorial. Many of the dramas, drawing on shared cultural assumptions and knowledge, must have sounded ludicrously inapposite for listeners living in Delhi or Nairobi; and shortwave was a dispiritingly ineffective medium for the dissemination of the sort of subtly-realised sound backgrounds that accompanied plays on the BBC Home Service. And so the General Overseas Service created its own small team of drama producers, with the express purpose of making their plays more relevant – and audible – to its international listenership.

I joined the World Service drama team as an attachee producer in 1977; it was the start of 23 marvellous years, in which the Unit changed out of all recognition. But the professional seeds had been sown long before I joined; John Pitman and Jim Vowden were two much-respected producers who between them directed some of the world’s great classic dramas with major British actors. And two of the projects of which I am most proud, the establishment of our biennial International Play Competition and the launch of Westway, the World Service soap (under the inspirational editorship of another long standing World Service producer, David Hitchinson) had their genesis in prior initiatives by Dickon Reed and Derek Hoddinott.

My first production was an abridged version of Becket’s Waiting For Godot with George Cole, Norman Rodway and Charles Gray; the quality of the cast an indication of the acting talent that we’ve always been able to attract to Bush House. My colleague Hilary Norrish and I gave Ewan McGregor his first two professional acting roles; Walter Acosta – a much-loved Uruguayan drama producer (who for many years had Sir John Gielgud voicing his ansaphone) gave Trevor Howard his last role – as King Lear. Squeezing every penny out of budgets that are, and remained, extremely modest for the work produced, we initiated a project called Globe Theatre where major authors such as Wole Soyinka, Frederick Rapahel and Mario Vargas Llosa wrote us international radio plays.

We teamed up with Los Angeles Theatre Works to make radio plays in America (where I directed Ally McBeal’s Calista Flockhart in The Glass Menagerie). We produced Shakespeare seasons, and toured Africa promoting the Bard; we ran drama workshops in Zimbabwe and Cameroon; we formed the Worldplay Group and scheduled international seasons with Radio Drama producers from all around the world. We mounted co-production initiatives with CBC, with ABC and with the British Council, all designed to spread budgets and increase our effectiveness. And we started to win awards – David Suchet for his extraordinary rendering of The Kreutzer Sonata; Ian Holm for a magisterial performance in The Mystery of Edwin Drood; David Hitchinson for his superb production of The Heart of a Dog. In the last 20 years the Radio Drama Unit has won more than 30 national or international prizes.

When Marion Nancarrow succeeded me as Head of World Service Drama in 2000, she made the laudable decision to broaden further the international remit of the Unit, actively seeking voices from outside the UK to complement the diet of British and World classic dramas that continued to be broadcast. Runt, a one-man show about being Jamaican-American, won a Sony Gold for best Drama. Twelve young writers from 10 different countries wrote different segments of a play online on the theme of water. (We Are Water). Together with the Slade School of Fine Art, Marion commissioned videos from artists in Israel, Uganda, China and Australia, inspiring dramatists from these same countries to write the play The View From Here. After running a writing workshop in Qatar, Marion commissioned seven writers to devise a drama about life in the Middle East: Al Amwaj (The Waves.)

In October this year World Service listeners heard Stages Of Independence, a collaboration with British African Theatre company, Tiata Fahodzi, where in front of a packed house at the BBC’s Radio Theatre in London an ensemble cast performed excerpts from plays written in those African countries which gained independence 50 years ago. And the British writer Katie Hims is currently working with Theatre for a Change to bring World Service the stories of sex workers and teachers in Malawi, two of the highest risk groups for HIV/AIDS, which will be broadcast for International Women’s Day.

I repeat: do financial pressures justify killing off a whole genre and ending this rich cultural heritage? Drama forms part of the heritage, incidentally, that our new Foreign Secretary, in his speech earlier this year, ‘Britain's Foreign Policy in a Networked World’ was at such pains to single out. He spoke of ‘the essential importance of the work of the British Council and the BBC World Service, which give Britain an unrivalled platform for the projection of the appeal of our culture and the sharing of our values.’

The primary function of World Service must always be the dissemination of reliable news and information , but for me drama and storytelling are a vital complement to international news. A good play can shed light on issues and events that a straightforward news story simply can’t reach. A drama like this year’s Tinniswood Award winner, Ivan And The Dogs by Hattie Naylor, tells you more about immediate post-perestroika Moscow than any number of short news items, because drama gives you an emotional involvement and investment in its protagonists.

Besides which, radio dramas also provided a wonderful showcase (and creative outlet) for the rich seam of writing and acting talent to be found in the UK. By scheduling drama, World Service was providing programming with which no other international broadcaster could compete or remotely challenge. My former boss at BBC World Service, Anthony Rendell, used to talk about news and current affairs as being important but ephemeral, while drama, documentaries and other arts programmes as having more real and lasting value. Indeed for over half a century it was the belief of BBC overseas broadcasters and their government sponsors that a mixed network, was essential to reflect the full strength and variety of British life. Cutting drama, alongside recent cuts to many other non-news programmes, appears to mark a complete philosophical shift away from this view,

Drama, of course, will never provide the sheer audience numbers who tune in to hear the World Service news. Listening to a play demands an investment of time that many people simply don’t feel they have; it is their loss. I remember Graham Mytton, an ex-head of World Service Audience Research, patiently explaining to a group of sceptical suits from the Foreign Office that listeners would always respond to the question ‘What do you listen to on World Service?’ with the answer, ‘The news.’ But if the question was altered to ‘Which programme have you most valued, enjoyed or been moved by in the past year?’, the answer was invariably a documentary or a drama.

I am, of course, a very biased observer, but I can't help thinking that one day the penny might drop that, whatever the economic pressures, in terminating a whole strand of output, World Service managers have, like Othello's base Indian, ‘thrown a pearl away richer than all his tribe.’ Is it too late to reverse this decision? Surely the recent announcement that World Service will be funded by the licence fee could be the catalyst for Radio 4 to combine forces with World Service to devise dramas that could be enjoyed by both domestic and international listeners? I sincerely hope this might be the case.

Even those who find radio plays deadly dull might welcome the continuation of the genre. My very favourite letter of hundreds I received while Head of the World Service Drama Unit was from a listener in Uganda who wrote: “Thank you, thank you Mr House for your long and challenging dramas. I have great difficulty sleeping – until, that is, I start listening to one of your plays. Keep up the good work!”

Alas, from next April there will be no more good work, unless the World Service reverses its decision.

Gordon House worked in the World Service Drama Unit from 1977-2000, when he became Head of Radio Drama. He retired from the BBC in 2005, but continues to direct occasional radio plays as a freelance producer.

Petition To Save The BBC World Service Drama

A petition has been started to Save The BBC World Service Drama.

On 23rd Sept ’10, the BBC announced that it is axing its world-renowned World Service Drama effective 1st April ’10.

...The strategic, economic and humanitarian case for World Service Drama’s continued existence is overwhelming and undoubtedly well known to the British authorities.

However, World Service Drama has always been a vulnerable and easy target when there is a sacrificial lamb to be had, as most of its 40 million plus worldwide audience is outside the British Isles. As such the listeners cannot have much of a say as stakeholders in the service as their voices are so dispersed around the world. They can only silently lament the far-reaching consequences the decision of the British authorities has on their literary output and intake around the world.

This online petition aims to address this status quo by using current innovative online technology to provide a platform for these voices allowing them to express their grave concern for the fate of their much cherished and loved BBC World Service Drama, which has become an iconic world literary heritage to them.

New BBC Editorial Guidelines

A guest post by Gail Renard, Chair of the Guild's Television Committee

The latest version of the BBC Editorial guidelines have been published. These are the guidelines setting out the standards expected of everyone making or presenting output on BBC TV, radio or online. Upon reading it, my first thought was here’s another statement from the Circumlocution Office saying nothing new but providing lots of BBC modules and courses with which to say it. Then I had another read and guess what? It’s my second thought too.

The basic Editorial Guide is a sound one, laying out the principles, values and standards that everyone employed by the BBC should know. It also emphasises using one’s own best judgement and taking advice from senior people in tricky situations. Fair play so far. But then I made the mistake of reading on.

There are modules covering everything; including competitions, conflicts of interests and misleading audiences. If employees really need to be told don’t cheat your audiences or advertise your Granddad’s corner shop on the Ten O’Clock News, then maybe the job interviews aren’t as stringent as one hoped.

The BBC Academy also has 20 new online, interactive learning modules, including quizzes and hypothetical scenarios for people to learn these guidelines. I got 30 seconds into one when a stallholder, Blue Peter-style, held up signs that spelled out T R U S T. Don’t they think they’re setting the bar rather low?

Would that all that money had gone into production budgets, which are being slashed daily. Now that the licence fee is to be frozen for the next six years it’s more important than ever that the money for productions is ring-fenced. And the last thing that creatives need are more execs taking more courses that will produce another 100 sets of notes emanating from fear and back-covering; totally kicking any originality or life out of a show.

We all know that this is the fallout over Jonathan Ross and Sachsgate, as Russell Brand explained to a bemused Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight only last week. The issue isn’t about producing more guidelines or impediments to good programme making. It’s about following the basic, commonsensical guidelines that already exist and, in a very few cases, clearly weren’t observed. Heads rolled. Let’s move on but without crash helmets to cross the corridor.

Yes the issue is all about trust. If the BBC hires someone (the greatest honour in this industry, I think) then they should be certain that the person already is trustworthy, and possesses common sense, experience and as much intelligence as he/ she can muster on a good day. But please don’t tell me Dr Who has to wear a seatbelt in the Tardis. I’ll cry.

No culture please, we're British

The Writers’ Guild and the Society of Authors have received a brush-off in response to protests about the cancellation of all BBC World Service radio drama.

Peter Horrocks, Director of BBC Global News, said in a letter (pdf) to the two unions: 'BBC World Service has to respond to the challenges of an increasingly tough financial climate and an increasingly competitive global media market. Primarily, audiences come to BBC World Service for news and information and analysis of major global issues.'

In March this year the post of Director of BBC World Service was abolished and the duties added to Horrocks’ s job description. Since then 'BBC World Service' has apparently been regarded as a brand name within the BBC Global News division.

Writers’ Guild General Secretary Bernie Corbett commented: 'Only a few years ago the BBC World Service offered a complete range of British arts, science, culture and entertainment. Today all that remains is a rolling news service – one among hundreds. Once Britain wanted to share with the world its language, its drama, its music, its comedy, its science. The most distinctive thing left is the pips.'

Top producer laments radio drama cuts

From The Stage:

Former World Service drama head Gordon House has lamented the broadcaster’s decision to axe the 14 plays it broadcasts annually, claiming they provide a global showcase of the UK’s writing and acting talent.

The plays form the majority of the station’s regular drama output and House, who worked as the station’s head of drama until 2000, described the World Service’s decision to axe the plays from 2011 as “very sad”. He claimed actors and writers would lose a valuable source of employment as a result.

Radio award winners

The winners of the annual Imison Award and Tinniswood Award for radio drama have been announced at a reception in London compered by leading radio producer Gordon House.

The Tinniswood Award

Honouring the best original radio drama script broadcast in 2009, the Tinniswood Award went to Ivan And The Dogs by Hattie Naylor

Also shortlisted were:

• The Moment You Feel It by Ed Harris
• Cry Babies by Kim Newman
• Vent by Nigel Smith
• People Snogging In Public Places by Jack Thorne

The prize of £1,500 is donated by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society, and the judges were Sheila Goff, John Tydeman and Katharine Way. The Award is administered by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain.

The Imison Award

Honouring the best original radio drama script by a writer new to radio, broadcast in 2009, the Imison Award went to The Road Wife by Eoin McNamee

Also shortlisted were:

• The Lady Of Kingsland Waste by J Parkes (Highly Commended)
• Trying by Erin Browne
• Fifteen by Deborah Wain

The prize of £1,500 is donated by the Peggy Ramsay Foundation. It is judged by members of the Society of Authors’ Broadcasting Committee (David Docherty (Chair), Mike Bartlett, Nazrin Choudhury, Alison Joseph, Nell Leyshon, Karen Liebreich, Sue Limb, Karl Sabbagh, Colin Teevan and Nick Warburton).

Radio drama cuts

Speaking at the awards reception to an audience containing many of the UK's leading radio drama executives, as well as the new Controller of Radio 4, Gwyneth Williams, Gordon House lamented the recent cuts to drama output on BBC Radio 4 and the cessation of drama output for BBC World Service. The guest speaker, Rose Tremain, echoed these sentiments and also called for more 90-minute drama time-slots to be made available.

Gordon House, Hattie Naylor, Rose Tremain, Eoin McNamee and Gwyneth Williams
(Photo: Alison Baxter)

BBC faces criticism for ‘ghettoised’ black and Asian output

By Matthew Hemley in The Stage:

BBC Radio has come under fire for its “token” commissioning of dramas by and featuring black and Asian artists, with both the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and Equity criticising the lack of diversity in the Corporation’s output.

Both unions took the opportunity to highlight their concerns in individual responses to a review being carried out into BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and BBC 7 by the BBC Trust.

Guild's response BBC Radio consultation

The Writers' Guild's response to the BBC Trust service review of Radio 3, Radio 4 & Radio 7 has been published on the Guild's website.

BBC Radio to offer more hours to independent sector

By Matthew Hemley for The Stage:

Independent producers of BBC radio drama will have the opportunity to bid for more programme slots on the Corporation’s networks following a review carried out by the BBC Trust.

The review looked at independent supply of radio programming, with the trust concluding that a further 10% of BBC Radio programming should be opened up to the independent sector, on top of the guaranteed 10% quota producers already benefit from.

Imison and Tinniswood Awards shortlists

The shortlists for the Imison and Tinniswood Awards for radio drama have been announced.

The Tinniswood Award

The Tinniswood Award honours the best original radio drama script broadcast in 2009.

• The Moment You Feel It by Ed Harris
• Ivan and the Dogs by Hattie Naylor
• Cry Babies by Kim Newman
• Vent by Nigel Smith
• People Snogging in Public Places by Jack Thorne

The prize of £1,500 is donated by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society, and the 2010 judges were Sheila Goff, John Tydeman and Katharine Way. The Award is administered by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain.

The Imison Award

The Imison Award honours the best original radio drama script by a writer new to radio, broadcast in 2009. The shortlist this year is:

• Trying by Erin Browne
• The Road Wife by Eoin McNamee
• The Lady of Kingsland Waste by J Parkes
• Fifteen by Deborah Wain

The prize of £1,500 is donated by the Peggy Ramsay Foundation. It is judged by members of the Society of Authors’ Broadcasting Committee (David Docherty (Chair), Mike Bartlett, Nazrin Choudhury, Alison Joseph, Nell Leyshon, Karen Liebreich, Sue Limb, Karl Sabbagh, Colin Teevan and Nick Warburton).

The presentation of the awards, by Rose Tremain, will take place on the evening of
Monday 4th October, at a private reception at the National Liberal Club, London.

New interviews from BBC Writersroom

Three excellent new interviews from the BBC Writersroom:

1) Cheryl Taylor - the BBC's Controller, Comedy Commissioning.

Are there any priorities for you?

One of the big priorities which I've learned very quickly in this job, is that the minute you mention a priority you get a glut of things, so it quickly becomes too much. But I think blue collar comedy is something that the BBC have not really excelled at in recent years. I'd love more scripts that don't feel middle-class. For a while on BBC Two we had this bizarre spate of male middle-class menopause sitcoms like Saxondale and Fear, Stress and Anger. Actually Lead Balloon, which is coming back, sort of falls into that category too. It was all male, it was all middle class, it was all angsty stuff and it felt like a real rut actually. So yes, blue collar and more female comedy, more diverse comedy of every sort really.

2) Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Sebastian Baczkiewicz talk about writing for radio.

How do you feel about receiving notes?

Sebastian: Certainly with radio you have a relationship of trust with your producer. They're going to say things you sort-of-know, you just need someone else to say it as well.

And often that's a good part of the process of going away again and reworking it. So I welcome that other eye. I think it usually helps. Cos if you trust they're on your side, they are. I've worked once in my life with somebody I didn't really trust and the results were pretty disastrous, but that wasn't radio.

Rebecca: I think the scariest thing is giving it in initially and just thinking do they like it or not, does it work in any form. And if they say they like it, that's a relief.

I recently did a play with Jessica Dromgoole and she said "I love it. I don't think it needs any changing". And I was like "This is great. I've got the next month free!" And she said "But it's half the length it should be." Which is much worse news than "It's double the length it should be."

I think any notes that excite you are good notes. The hardest thing to know is what is working and what is not. But if someone says "We'll take this monologue away" and you feel like a lioness defending her cub then you know it's OK.

3) Tony Basgallop talks about writing Worried About The Boy.

You recently wrote Hughie Green, Most Sincerely for BBC 4. Are you particularly interested in biopics? What are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of writing them?

I have a real difficulty in narrowing down ideas, so biographies help with that. They limit you to just the facts, and the stuff you can legally get away with. I've done the dead and I've done the living: John Prescott, the Apollo 11 astronauts, Hughie Green, Scott of the Antarctic... I really enjoy the challenge because it always seems impossible when you start out. Then you hit a point where the voice kicks in, and suddenly you're ok with it. You're walking and talking and thinking like that person. I hate the research because that involves reading, and I'm not particularly good at reading. So I buy audio books when I can. I get the facts in the end. I get as close to the person as I possibly can. There always seems to be an aspect in these people's lives that surprises me. When I've finished, I feel like I know them.

Fitzrovia Radio Hour

By Will Gompertz for BBC News:

The Fitzrovia Radio Hour perform spoof 1940s radio plays - complete with sound effects. They are attired in evening dress, adopt cut-glass English accents and play in front of a live audience. They are at the Edinburgh Festival between Friday 6 August and Monday 30 August - playing at the Underbelly venue in the city.

There's a specially written sample on the BBC News website.

More info: www.fitzroviaradio.co.uk

Gwyneth Williams named as Controller of Radio 4 and Radio 7

From the BBC Press Office:

Gwyneth Williams has been appointed Controller of BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 7...

Gwyneth Williams said: "Radio 4 represents the BBC at its best: it is loved and trusted and stands above all for quality. It is a privilege and honour to be asked to lead the network through the next stage of its evolution. I am hugely looking forward to working with so many talented programme-makers, each with a unique contribution to make. I want to ensure that this creativity shows on air and delights and inspires our listeners."

The threat to radio drama

In The Guardian, Leo Benedictus asks if Radio 4's decision to axe the Friday Play is the beginning of the end for radio drama.

...podcasts still offer genuine hope. (If there's no DIY revolution in radio drama as yet, it's because amateurs do not generally do drama well.) The BBC has only recently begun to podcast The Archers, where it is thriving. And the rumour is that other dramas will follow soon. "Lots of writers and practitioners want to know, 'Why can't I have my play podcast? I know my friends would listen to it,'" says [Alison] Hindell [the BBC's head of audio drama.] "I would love to be in a position where we were podcasting a play of the week."

[Jeremy] Howe [Radio 4's drama commissioner], is keen to see this, too – though he remains adamant that, despite its travails, radio drama is in good health. "Audiences are now consuming things in a completely different way," he says. "Actually, the miracle is that audiences for Radio 4, and drama, have remained roughly stable for the last 12 years. The same," he cannot resist adding, "cannot be said of television channels." No, it can't. But radio can surely dream of better.Who knows: with more podcasts and some fresh writing blood, radio drama might one day rule the airwaves again.

Radio writing workshop - Cardiff

The Writers' Guild of Great Britain is pleased to announce a workshop with the BBC's Head of Audio Drama Alison Hindell.

The workshop will take place at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, on Friday 18th June 2010 at 7pm. Participants should register their interest with Othniel Smith (smithothniel@gmail.com).

Please note that this is an event for writers new to radio and the opportunity is NOT open to writers with radio drama credits.

BBC radio consultation launched

The BBC Trust has launched a review and public consultation on the future of Radios 3, 4 and 7. The closing date is Thursday 26th August.

The Guild has strongly criticised the BBC in recent months for damaging cuts to radio drama, most recently in the submission to the BBC Strategy review, in which the Guild said:

'We have seen two excellent soaps – Westway and Silver Street – killed off when they might well have been saved by offering them to mainstream audiences. The matchless BBC World Service drama productions have gone. The Friday Play is being cancelled, leaving real doubts about the future of more challenging, risk-taking radio drama.'

The Guild’s Radio Committee will be meeting later this month to consider a formal response to the latest consultation. Members of the public are also invited to have their say. If you do, please let us know your thoughts as well at admin@writersguild.org.uk.

Record ratings for The Archers

Of course, ratings are never a full measure of a programme's success...but they help. So congratulations to writers of The Archers, which, according to the latest listening figures, as reported by BBC News has 'a record 4.9 million listeners a week'.

Sony Gold for Jack Thorne

Guild member Jack Thorne won the Gold Award at the Sony Radio Academy Awards last night for his Radio 3 drama People Snogging In Public Places, produced by Steven Canny.

The judges described this as a wonderfully written and performed, highly original piece of radio drama in which the production perfectly mirrored the subject. Painful and funny, it was a bold exciting listen.

Hindell vows to protect radio drama

By Matthew Hemley for The Stage:

BBC head of radio drama Alison Hindell has moved to reassure actors, writers and producers that there will be “no more significant cuts for some time to come”, following Radio 4’s decision to axe the Friday Play from next year.

Hindell, who is responsible for all in-house drama production in her role and who was involved in the discussion to cut Radio 4’s Friday Play strand, said the Corporation is still the “biggest broadcaster of radio drama in the world by miles”, and vowed to guard the genre going forward.

Update: The Stage also reports that Radio 4 commissioning editor for drama Jeremy Howe is to take a nine-month break from the role and join the BBC’s editorial policy team. Caroline Raphael, commissioning editor for comedy and entertainment, will cover during his absence.

Sony Radio Award nominations

Nominations have been announced for the 2010 Sony Radio Academy Awards.

The nominees for Best Drama are:

• Daniel and Mary (written by Oliver Emanuel, BBC Radio Scotland Drama for BBC Radio Scotland)
• People Snogging in Public Places (written by Jack Thorne, BBC Radio Drama for BBC Radio 3
• Restless (from the book by William Boyd, BBC Radio Drama for BBC Radio 4)
• The Day that Lehman Died (written by Matthew Solon, BBC World Service Drama & Goldhawk Essential Production for BBC World Service)
• The Loop (written by Nick Perry, BBC Radio Drama for BBC Radio 4

Sorry, I can't find who dramatised Restless - anyone know?

The nominees for Best Comedy are:

• Adam and Joe (BBC 6 Music/BBC Audio & Music for BBC 6 Music)
• Bleak Expectations (written by Mark Evans, BBC Radio Comedy for BBC Radio 4)
• Down The Line - Credit Crunch Special (various writers, Down The Line Productions for BBC Radio 4)
• Mark Steel's In Town (written by Mark Steel, BBC Radio Comedy for BBC Radio 4)
• News Quiz (various writers, BBC Radio Comedy for BBC Radio 4)