BBC show inundated with comedy ideas

A new BBC comedy show that invited sketches from the public was inundated with more than 12,000 scripts.

Producers of the Radio 4 show The Show What You Wrote threw open its doors to anyone – and 1,500 aspiring writers responded with an average of eight scripts each.

The best of them will air over four compilation shows, performed by a team that includes Fast Show star John Thomson and stand-up Gavin Webster. Each also has a theme: historical drama, sci-fi/fantasy, thriller/suspense and kitchen sink drama 

Producer Carl Cooper said: ‘We read every one of the scripts. It's hard to read through such a massive amount and remain objective.

‘We were genuinely worried that we might miss something brilliant so we did perform random spot checks in each others' ‘No’ folders; and if there was a particular sketch we liked from a certain writer, we looked up what else they sent in.

‘It was all worth it.  We've found some really good new writers who we are going to be encouraging. The show has turned out great.

‘There were a few strange submissions too.  Some of the funniest material I read was from an Eastern European chap whose sketches had been put through an online translator. I'd love to have a proper translation!’

Others who contributed included: a barmaid from Newcastle, a medical student from Cambridge, a charity shop volunteer from Lemington Spa, a children’s book author from Manchester and a house husband from Templecombe, Somerset, whose previous jobs include being an asparagus picker.

The Show What You Wrote, which also features Fiona Clarke and Helen Moon, starts on Radio 4 at 11pm on June 27.

And script editor Jon Hunter gives his thoughts on the biggest mistakes writers made here

Published: 18 Jun 2013