Podcast transcripts

We're doing transcripts of the most recent Writers' Guild podcasts, starting with this one of the interview with writer Jack Thorne.

The big influence was whoever was writing EastEnders that week. I loved that show when I and I think that was probably the biggest influence on me working out what writers did – though I did think the actors made up the words. That sort of storytelling was a huge influence on me. In terms of playwrights I tend to admire the writers I can’t write like – so I don’t know if they’re an influence on me but they’re people who I just think are incredible . The likes of Sarah Kane and Dennis Kelly – the really poetic writers; and I’m not poetic. Ronald Harwood I think is a genius and I would watch any film he has written.

Update: The transcript of the discussion about the impact of public spending cuts is now online. Also features analysis of the recent Guild/ITV drama agreement.

RIP The Bill

As ITV's police series The Bill comes to an end, on the Writers' Guild website writer Gregory Evans (right) reflects on the show's significance.

I heard about Alan Plater's death on the day of the Bill wrap party.

The party seemed significant enough in itself, a celebration-cum-wake marking the end, after a run of 27 years, of British television's most popular police series. And, on a personal note, the end of an 18-year period in my own writing career: my first episode of The Bill was screened in 1992, my final episode went out in June this year.

Between those two dates I’ve chalked up 27 episodes (or so it says on IMDb: I haven’t been counting). Despite this, I've never really thought of myself as a Bill writer: I’m just a writer who sometimes worked on The Bill, and loved the show, as contributor and viewer, for most of its long and varied life (half-hours, hours; once, twice, three times a week; and, finally, uneasily, post-watershed).

Some years I wrote three or four episodes, others I was busy with other work so I didn’t make that long, boring journey down to Merton. (For those who've never had the pleasure, Merton – which a few years ago mysteriously became South Wimbledon – the last-stop-but-one on the Northern Line, is where The Bill studios and production offices are, or rather were, situated.)

Once I took a seven-year break from The Bill from 2001 to 2008, when, under executive producer Paul Marquess, it took an eye-stingingly soapy turn that I didn’t much care for (though, to be fair, many viewers did: the reinvention slowed a long slow slide in the audience figures). And then, three years ago, I was pleased as punch to be invited back on the show after it rediscovered its police-procedural mojo under Johnathan Young.

The sad news of Alan Plater's death made the Bill wrap party seem more momentous than ever. In fact, it occurred to me that, in the subtext at least, the passing of something bigger than The Bill was being marked on that late-June evening. It seemed we were there to celebrate and mourn not only The Bill itself, not only a certain kind of cop show – realistic, defiantly low-concept, with its roots in ‘ordinary’, i.e. working-class, life (reports of Alan's death mentioned his early work on Z-Cars, which broke the ground The Bill built on and occupied for so long), but also a particular kind of television drama: distinctively British, often regional; writer-led (therefore well-crafted, thoughtful and emotionally true); quietly confident in what it does and how it does it. The kind of drama Alan Plater wrote throughout his long and illustrious career; the kind John Wilsher has been writing (a fair amount of it for The Bill) for 30 years.

What Guild members are getting up to

SEBASTIAN BACZKIEWICZ'S radio play in four parts begins with the episode "The Drowned Church" on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Tuesday 31st August.

DAVID BARRY, whose play A Friend of Ronnie's was showcased by Equity members at the Writers' Guild three years ago, performs at the Sarah Thorne Theatre Club, Broadstairs, on 18th and 19th September. He is also appearing in the one-act play which is presented by Katapult along with Maid/Man by US writer Rich Rubin, whose play recently won Katapult's one-act play competition.

DAVID CROFT and JIMMY PERRY co-wrote the episode of Dad's Army "The Lion Has Phones" going out on BBC2 at 8:30pm on Saturday 28th August.


IAN CURTEIS'S radio dramatisation of Boscobel goes out on Radio 4 at 2:30pm on Saturday 28th August.

RICHARD DAVIDSON wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Thursday 2nd September.

ANNE DOWNIE'S first novel The Witches of Pollock will be published by Capercaillie books on 6th October 2010. She will also be appearing at the National Theatre, London in Men Should Weep from 18th October.

LISA HOLDSWORTH wrote the episode of Waterloo Road going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Wednesday 1st September.

ALEX JONES' one-man play I'm A Minger! is touring again, beginning with a week of performances at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry 6th September, before embarking on a national tour, including Northern Ireland. Check out the website for a theatre near you: http://www.imaminger.com.

JULIE JONES wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Monday 30th August.

SUE MOONEY wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 30th August.

DAVID NOBBS co-wrote the episode of Reggie Perrin going out on BBC1 at 10:45pm on Wednesday 1st September.

DEBBIE OATES wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Monday 30th August.

LESLEY CLARE O'NEILL wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 31st August.

HOWARD OVERMAN wrote the episode of Vexed going out on BBC2 at 9:00pm on Sunday 29th August.

CHRISTOPHER REASON wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Monday 30th August.

PAUL ROUNDELL wrote the episodes of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm and 8:00pm on Thursday 2nd September.

WILLIAM STANTON’S play Foul Tide, about the destruction of a Devon village, is on at the Courtyard theatre in London from March 16th – 24th 2011 www.thecourtyard.org.uk

SUE TEDDERN wrote the serial soloparentpals.com, going out on Radio 4 at 10:45am, repeated at 7:45pm, Monday to Friday, 23rd to 27th August.

BERT TYLER-MOORE wrote the episode of Pete versus Life "Ollie's Girlfriend" going out on C4 at 10:00pm on Friday 3rd September.

LIL WARREN'S Sport is War...? is on at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival at The Sin Lounge (upstairs) - venue 339, Cowgate.

PETER WHALLEY wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Sunday 29th August.

NIGEL WILLIAMS' radio comedy HR continues with the episode "Dogging" going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Monday 30th August.

JUSTIN YOUNG wrote the episode of Holby City "The Last Day of Summer" going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Tuesday 31st August.

All the TV in China

UK writers could get a royalties windfall from China’s booming economy and consumer society, with BBC Worldwide running a Beijing version of its Showcase event this week [Wednesday 25 August 2010] for more than 100 TV buyers from the country’s many channels.

China has a big appetite for children’s series such as Wibbly Pig and ZingZillas, and there are high hopes for this year’s drama hit Sherlock. Five hours of clips were translated into Mandarin for the event.

Showcase is already an annual fixture in Brighton, where there is a week-long sales festival each February, and Rio de Janeiro. More than half of Worldwide’s £1 billion-plus annual revenues are generated by overseas sales.

Drama and comedy writers generally receive 5.6 per cent of the sale price, so if a programme or series sells for £10,000 the writer’s share is £560.

But some shows are too dangerous to showcase, says Pierre Cheung, manager of Worldwide’s Beijing office: “There is no way we could screen The Thick of It as there is too much use of the f-word.” Really? What is the Mandarin for “flip”?

Guy Hibbert challenges festivals to include more screenwriters

By Matthew Hemley in The Stage:

Five Minutes of Heaven and Omagh creator Guy Hibbert is spearheading a global campaign to stop screenwriters being excluded from film and television festivals where their work is shown.

The BAFTA-winning writer claims he and his counterparts are regularly shunned from such festivals, with the directors or actors being asked to appear instead. He argues this denies writers the credit they deserve and the chance to discuss their projects with senior figures in the industry.

There will be more on this Guild-backed campaign in the upcoming issue of the Guild's magazine, UK Writer.

New podcasts from the Writers' Guild

New podcasts are now available from the Writers' Guild of Great Britain, featuring:

• An interview with TV, radio, film and theatre writer Jack Thorne (transcript also available)
  
• A discussion about the impact on writers of public spending cuts
• Analysis of the recent Writers' Guild agreement with ITV.

You can hear the podcasts online at http://writersguild.libsyn.com.

Or you can find them in the iTunes store.

Podcasts from the Writers' Guild are also as an app for the iPhone/i Pod Touch and iPad. The app costs £1.19 ($1.99). Revenue is split three ways between the Guild, Apple and Wizzard Media (the app hosts). So for every person that buys the app around 40p goes to the Guild.

Some background information to go with these podcasts is avaialble here (pdf)

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.

What TV controllers want to see on the screen

In Media Guardian, channel controllers, including ITV's Peter Fincham, explain what they're keen to commission.

'[We're looking for] High quality original and compelling drama continues to be a major component of the ITV1 schedule, and we're looking for series of a variety of lengths for 9pm as well as some stripped opportunities and one-offs. Among the topics we're interested in are workplace drama; contemporary lives; comedy drama; and crime, if there is a unique angle.'

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.

What Guild members are getting up to

SIMON BRETT'S radio play Quirks goes out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Thursday 26th August.

MARK BURT wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Friday 27th August.

JONATHAN DAVIDSON'S drama documentary Miss Balcombe's Orchard goes out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Monday 23rd August.

MATT EVANS wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Tuesday 24th August.

ROB GITTINS wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Thursday 26th August.

PETER KERRY wrote the episodes of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm and 8:00pm on Thursday 26th August.

DAVID LANE wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Friday 27th August.

JESSICA LEA wrote the episodes of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th August.

DAVID NOBBS co-wrote the first episode of the new series of Reggie Perin going out on BBC1 at 10:45pm on Wednesday 25th August.

HOWARD OVERMAN wrote the episode of Vexed going out on BBC2 at 9:00pm on Sunday 22nd August.

STEWART PERMUTT`S new play Real Babies Don`t Cry won a Fringe First Award and is being performed at the Gilded Balloon Teviot Row Bristo Square, Box Office: 0131 6222 6552 or www.gildedballoon.co.uk till 29th August. It stars Richard Dempsey, Janet Prince, Mandi Symonds and the director is Gene David Kirk.

TIM PRICE wrote the episode of Holby City "'Til the Grave" going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Tuesday 25th August.

CAROLE SIMPSON SOLAZZO wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 at 7:00pm from Sunday 22nd till Friday 27th August. Each episode is repeated at 2:00pm the day following its original broadcast.

SUE TEDDERN wrote the episode of the new series Soloparentpals.com "A Clean Slate" going out on Radio 4 at 7:45pm on Monday 23rd August.

CHRIS THOMPSON wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Friday 27th August.

JOE TURNER wrote the episode of Coronation Street on ITV1 at 8:30pm on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Monday 23rd August.

JAMES VOLLMAR'S one act play Timetable will feature in the Theatre Trail at this year's Arundel Festival, during which Drip Action Theatre Co will perform eight one act plays over eight days in eight different venues. First performances are on Saturday 21st August. More details from http://www.arundelfestival.co.uk/Arundel%20Theatre/att-dailylisting.html.

KARIN YOUNG wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 23rd August.

The Peggy Ramsay archive

On the Writers' Guild website Zoë Wilcox (right), cataloguer of modern literary manuscripts at the British Library, presents an insight into the life of one of the great figures of post-war theatre (first published in the Guild's magazine for members, UK Writer.

She must be our best-known playwrights’ agent. Forthright and formidable, Peggy Ramsay has become something of a legend in the theatre world whilst most agents have remained background figures in the careers of their famous clients. She has been played by Vanessa Redgrave and Maureen Lipman, immortalised in print and on the stage, but it is her own archive that best captures Peggy Ramsay in her own words. Acquired by the British Library in 1997, the archive of Margaret Ramsay Ltd is stuffed full of deliciously frank correspondence between Peggy and her clients. It has been my task to turn the fifty boxes of papers, scrapbooks, ledgers and other paraphernalia into a usable resource for researchers. In the process, I have learnt a lot about her and the writers she represented in theatre, film, radio and television.

STV viewers to miss out on new ITV dramas

By Simon Johnson for Telegraph.co.uk:

STV hopes ratings will increase as more Scottish programming makes its ways onto its schedules, but critics claim the cash-strapped channel is more interested in saving money by using cheaper alternatives.

...Among the shows in ITV’s autumn 2010 schedule that will not be shown Scotland is Downtown Abbey, is a period drama written by Oscar-winning writer Julian Fellowes and starring Dame Maggie Smith.

[Another], Joe Maddison’s War [written by Alan Plater], stars Kevin Whately and Robson Green as two friends who reluctantly join the Home Guard.

Link via @davidbishop

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.

20th century authors: making the connections

To complement the new BBC Four series In Their Own Words: British Novelists, which starts tonight, the Open University has mapped the connections between 20th Century British novelists. A great way to while away some time instead of writing ;-)

Collinson's plans for Coronation Street

In The Guardian, Gareth McLean talks to Coronation Street's new producer, Phil Collinson:

Keeping an audience interested is the soap producer's perennial problem – and one that becomes more pressing as audiences grow increasingly skittish. For Collinson, the key is relying on the writing team.

"This is a show run by a senate and that's the writers' table. I chair that and I look strategically across the show. The papers like to paint you as Cutthroat Collinson, ever eager to wield the axe, but you can't run this show if you're power-hungry. You need so many other people – the story team, the writing team, the production team – to be on your side. I am enjoying the influence I have over it but I'm not an autocrat."

What next for CBeebies?

In MediaGuardian, Maggie Brown talks to Kay Benbow, the new controller of the BBC's channel for young children.

The key to Benbow's strategy is fairly simple: "I want CBeebies to be accessible and tangible, as if the audience can touch it, so that it is part of their lives, a positive thing." That means children taking a leading role in many programmes, or being involved in the continuity between the often bite-sized shows (none lasts more than about 22 minutes) that are screened between 6am and 7pm.

New hope for shows made for web

By Brian Stelter in The New York Times:

After a protracted drought, money is trickling back into the professional Web video industry. So-called branded entertainment deals like the one by Ikea are becoming more common, helping to nourish new programming. And venture capital firms are also paying new attention to the industry. My Damn Channel, which distributes “Easy to Assemble,” will announce a $4.4 million infusion of financing on Monday, joining companies like Blip.tv and Machinima in raising money this year.

The promise of Web video has risen and fallen over the last few years. What makes the current round of interest more compelling is the realization in the industry that Web video will not supplant television viewing anytime soon, just complement it. That partly explains why the companies have stopped labeling themselves “TV on the Internet.”

“We realized we were putting a burden on Web-original programming by trying to make it like TV,” said Lance Podell, the Next New Networks chief executive, who now calls his company a provider of “Web original programming.”

What Guild members are getting up to

ABBY AJAYI wrote the episode of Coming Up: I Don't Care going out on C4 at 11:40pm on Thursday 19th August.

BENNETT ARRON is performing his new show Bennett Arron Has Had Enough at the Canon's Gait, Edinburgh from August 19th - 28th. It's part of the Free Fringe. He is also hosting a one-off Sitcom Writing Workshop on August 26th from 1:15pm-2:15pm. Entry is free. www.bennettarron.com

SARAH BAGSHAW wrote the episodes of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm and 8:00pm on Thursday 19th August.

PAUL COATES wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Monday 16th August.

DAVID CROFT and JIMMY PERRY co-wrote the episode of Dad's Army "The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones" going out on BBC2 at 6:00pm on Saturday 14th August.

SIMON CROWTHER wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Friday 20th August.

MARK EVANS'S radio comedy series Bleak Expectations concludes with the episode "Chapter the Last: a Happy Life Broken and Then Mended a Bit" on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Monday 16th August.

STEVEN FAY wrote the episodes of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th August.

JOHN FINNEMORE'S radio comedy series Cabin Pressure continues with the episode Johannesburg going out on Radio 4 at 6:30pm on Tuesday 17th August.

JONATHAN HARVEY wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Friday 20th August.

JAYNE HOLLINSON wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Thursday 19th August.

JANE HOLLOWOOD wrote the episode of Heartbeat "Jobs for the Boys" going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Sunday 15th August.

JOHN KERR wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Monday 16th August.

DARAN LITTLE wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Friday 20th August.

BILL LYONS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 16th August.

JAN McVERRY wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Monday 16th August.

HOWARD OVERMAN wrote the episode of Misfits going out on C4 at 10:00pm on Saturday 14th August. He also wrote the first episode of the new series Vexed staring Toby Stephens and Lucy Punch going out on BBC2 at 9:00pm on Sunday 15th August.

JEREMY PAUL'S play The Secret of Sherlock Holmes with Peter Egan and Robert Daws, directed by Robin Herford, designed by Simon Higlett, is running at the Duchess Theatre, London WC2, until 11th September.

JANE PEARSON wrote the episodes of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th August.

JAMES QUINN's new comedy TWENTY20 about cricket and how it mirrors modern life, continues in repertoire at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough till August 28th.

ALISTAIR RUTHERFORD wrote the script for the short film, Eight Words, which has been accepted for the New York City International Film Festival. The film will screen in competition on Monday 16th August.

CAROLE SIMPSON SOLAZZO wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 from Sunday 15th to Friday 20th August.

RICHARD STONEMAN wrote the episode of Doc Martin "Do Not Disturb" going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Friday 20th August.

SIMON STRATTON won the John Brabourne Big 5 Comedy Award for his screenplay Get Miles.

KARIN YOUNG wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Friday 20th August.

Developing the Writers' Guild website

Work will soon get underway to redevelop the WGGB website - refreshing the design, integrating the blog into the main site, bringing more functionality to the Find A Writer service and focusing on original written content and podcasts.

Are there any new features or content that you think we should include? Please add comments below

ps Google has now given the Guild website a clean bill of health following the recent security scare affecting our hosting company. Apologies for any inconvenience.