The apprentices
BBC backs new comedy writers
The BBC has set up a £150,000 apprenticeship fund to nurture new TV comedy writers.
Writers chosen to take part in the scheme will be paid £10,000 each to shadow programmes from start to finish, learning from the writers of each show and contributing to script discussions.
They will also be offered regular mentoring sessions with BBC comedy executives as they learn the process of producing a TV comedy.
At the end of the apprenticeship, they will be expected to produce a script, either for a subsequent series of the show they experienced or as an original idea.
It is intended that every new in-house comedy will have an apprentice writer attached.
Writers selected to go on the scheme will have been discovered through the BBC’s existing talent search contests.
Jon Plowman, head of BBC TV comedy, said: ‘There are some good writers around who have sent us scripts, who have worked in radio, or who we’ve met through initiatives such as BBC Talent.
‘Allowing promising newcomers to experience production will, we hope, give them knowledge which will feed into their work. And we hope that their contribution will make a difference to the shows they’re shadowing.’
Published: 1 Nov 2005
