Breaking into Ch4: How to fast-track your way into TV Drama

with Anna Symon, Jane Eden, and Lisa Walters
moderated by Philip Shelley

Watch This Session

This session will look at the Channel 4 Screenwriting Course.  Run by Philip Shelley who initiated and has run the course since 2011. The course will be accepting entries again in October for the 2016 course.

The Ch4 Screenwriting Course has become the premier entry point into TV drama for new writers.  Every year 12 uncredited writers work for a 6 month period on a new TV script. Many of these projects have been optioned and taken into development by independent production companies.

Previous participants have achieved great success going on to write for shows such as Coming Up (Touchpaper/Ch4), Indian Summers (New Pictures/Ch4), Banana (Red Productions/Ch4), Shameless (Company/Ch4), Fortitude (Fifty Fathoms/Sky), Youngers (Big Talk/C4), Murdered By My Boyfriend (BBC), Doctors (BBC), Waterloo Road (Shed/BBC), Holby City (BBC) – and many others.

In this session Philip will be joined by two writer graduates from the course as well as a representative from the Channel 4 drama department (who fund and support the course) who will discuss:

• How the 12 successful writers are selected
• What makes a writer and their script stand out from the 1300 or more entries received
• The profile of the course writers
• How the course works
• How they work with the writers to develop their scripts
• Why the writers have enjoyed the successes they have
• What it takes to be successful as a new writer in the UK TV and Film industry

This session promises to be essential for any writers aspiring to work in UK TV drama.

Appearing in this session

Anna Symon – Screenwriter

Credits include: Indian Summers, Revelation

Anna graduated from 4Screenwriting in 2013. Her script written on the course, 'Blood Money', was optioned by Company Pictures.

Jane Eden – Screenwriter

Credits include: The Dumping Ground

A graduate of the CH4 Screenwriting course, the series Jane developed there is currently in development with Big Talk.

Lisa Walters – Programme Co-ordinator, Development | Channel 4 Drama

Lisa is Programme Co-ordinator, Development, for Channel 4 Drama. Actively seeking, bold, thought-provoking, challenging drama, for Channel 4 and E4.

Philip Shelley – Channel Four Screenwriting Course and Script editor

Credits include: Waking The Dead, Medics

Writer, producer and script consultant Philip also runs the Channel Four Screenwriting course.

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