Channel 4 announces new TV writing talent

25 June 2015

Nuzhat Ali and Sharma Walfall have won the Channel 4 and Northumbria University Writing for Television Award at the Northern Writers’ Awards ceremony in Newcastle this evening.

Launched by Northumbria University in partnership with Channel 4 as part of the Northern Writers’ Awards last November, the new award seeks to identify raw and diverse writing talent from the North of England.

The award is one of the many initiatives launched as part of Channel 4’s 360 Degree Diversity Charter launched earlier this year.

Nuzhat and Sharma were selected from 264 entrants to win the award, which offers them the unique opportunity to be mentored through the script commissioning process with Lime Pictures and RED Production Company. As part of the judging process, six finalists pitched their ideas earlier this spring.

From July 2015, the writers will spend ten months being mentored by Lime Pictures and RED Production Company.

Lee Mason, Commissioning Editor, Channel 4 said: “Channel 4 is committed to creating opportunities that support new talent and find diverse voices, so we are delighted to be working with Northumbria University and New Writing North on the first Channel 4/Northumbria University Writing for Television Awards.

“The awards offer a unique opportunity for emerging writers to work alongside some of the best producers in the industry, gaining experience and building knowledge with the support of Lime Pictures and RED Productions. We were very impressed by the quality of writing that we encountered in this year’s submissions, and we are looking forward to continuing to work with Northumbria University and New Writing North to support and develop writing talent across the North.”

Nuzhat Ali, from Bradford, has won the award attached to RED Production Company, whose recent productions include Cucumber, Banana and Tofu. Nuzhat will receive mentoring in script development from top television professionals, who will support her towards pitching her own ideas for broadcast.

Nuzhat Ali said: “I am really looking forward to working with RED Production Company and am hoping that this opportunity will take my writing to a professional level.”

Caroline Hollick, Creative Director, RED Production Company said:

“Nurturing raw talent is what we strive to do and we were impressed by all of the finalists. We're going to stay in touch with all of them, as they are all interesting new voices.”

“However, for us there was one clear winner, and that was Nuzhat Ali.  We were blown away by her passion, her strength of opinion, and wealth of interesting experience.”

Sharma Walfall, from Manchester, will be mentored by Lime Pictures, the makers of Hollyoaks, where she will shadow the process of script development, from first draft to broadcast script. This may lead to a commission to write an original episode of Hollyoaks that will be broadcast on Channel 4.

Sharma Walfall said: “It means the world to me and feels a bit unreal to have won the competition. I'm extremely grateful for the award. To have the chance to work with and learn from the Hollyoaks team at Lime Pictures is unbelievable.”

Di Burrows, Producer, Lime Pictures said: “Sharma’s script sample was full of real characters, raw energy and insight which really made it stand out for us. She’s hungry to tell stories, has a fresh, original voice, an infectious enthusiasm and is bursting with ideas. We look forward to welcoming her on board Hollyoaks, harnessing all that passion and imagination and helping her to realise her dream.”

Channel 4, Northumbria University and New Writing North plan to continue developing and growing the Writing for Television Awards as a strand of the Northern Writers’ Awards, the largest talent development programme for writers in the North of England. The Northern Writers’ Awards will open again for submissions in the autumn.

Lucy Winskell OBE, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business and Engagement) at Northumbria University, said: “The university is delighted to be offering this opportunity for new writers, through our continued partnership with Channel 4 and our work with New Writing North on the Northern Writers’ Awards. This is a fantastic award, which gives new writers the chance to develop a career in television and I am very excited to see how our two writers benefit from this opportunity.”

Claire Malcolm, Chief Executive of New Writing North, said: “We are delighted that we have been able to uncover such promising writers for this award.  As they are relatively new writers we will ensure that the support they get is bespoke and takes into account their individual development needs, so that they have the best chance possible of seeing their work on screen.”

“We feel very fortunate to bring such a brilliant opportunity to writers through our rewarding partnership with Channel 4, Northumbria University, Lime Pictures and RED Production Company.”

Ends

 

For all media enquiries and interview requests please contact Laura Fraine, Marketing & Communications Manager for New Writing North, on 0191 204 8854 (office), 07411 164 837 (mob) or email laurafraine@newwritingnorth.com

For media inquiries related to Channel 4 please contact Tim English, details above right.

 

Notes to Editors:

About the winners

Nuzhat Ali

Nuzhat lives in Bradford where she completed an Education Studies degree with a subject specialism in English Language. Nuzhat was one of 10 people selected for the Street Voices 5 Play Writing Course in October 2014, this was followed by her selection for the Dream Reality Radio competition in December 2014. Her play ‘When George Came to Bradford’ was part of the Bradford Literature Festival and has been with recorded for the BBC Radio website.

 

Sharma Walfall

Sharma Walfall is a writer-actor from Manchester, she attended the University of Salford obtaining a BA (Hons) in Media and Performance, completing a screenwriting module which gave her the tools and platform to develop her ideas and stories into screenplays. Sharma has written a number of short films that have gone into production, she currently works freelance as a Creative Expert and Lead Facilitator at The Contact Theatre, Manchester.

 

About the partners

• Channel 4 is a publicly-owned, commercially-funded, not-for-profit public service broadcaster and has a remit to be innovative, experimental and distinctive. Its public ownership and not-for-profit status ensure all profit generated by its commercial activity is directly reinvested back into the delivery of its public service remit. As a publisher-broadcaster, Channel 4 is also required to commission UK content from the independent production sector and currently works with around 400 creative companies across the UK every year. In addition to the main Channel 4 service, its portfolio includes: E4, More4, Film4, 4Music, 4seven, channel4.com, and digital service All 4.
• New Writing North is the writing development agency for the north of England, and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation www.newwritingnorth.com. The Northern Writers’ Awards are its central platform for discovering and developing new writers from across the region, and were founded in 2000. More information about the Northern Writers’ Awards is available at www.northernwritersawards.com.
• Northumbria University, Newcastle was awarded the Times Higher Education Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts in 2012, as well as The Journal’s Culture Award for Best Arts and Business Partnership in 2013. Complementing its work with New Writing North and Channel 4, Northumbria University collaborates with a range of high profile cultural partners.
• To find out more about studying creative writing at Northumbria University, visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/pg for postgraduate opportunities, or, for information about its undergraduate courses, sign up to its November open day by visiting www.northumbria.ac.uk/openday.
• Red Production Company was set up by Nicola Shindler in 1998 to work with the best writers on modern, innovative and entertaining programming. The Manchester-based indie has since produced some of the UK’s most popular and critically acclaimed drama series. The company’s earliest TV credits include Russell T Davies’ Queer As Folk, Paul Abbott’s Clocking Off, romantic comedy Bob & Rose, and Burn It by Matt Greenhalgh. More recently, Red has produced acclaimed dramas such as Sally Wainwright¹s Scott & Bailey, Last Tango in Halifax and Happy Valley, Chris Lunt¹s Prey, the interconnected series created by Russell T Davies, Cucumber, Banana and Tofu and Ordinary Lies by Danny Brocklehurst. Red is proud to put the writer at the heart of every show.
• Lime Pictures is the home of the UK’s most talked about television – from cutting-edge formats to multi award winning, long-running drama. Lime is at the forefront of today’s popular culture – both as a content creator and the producer of TV shows that stand the test of time. Lime produces world class, cutting edge content. From the very first steps in development through to full scale production, we deliver the very best in UK TV programming along with the very latest in digital content, allied social media and ground breaking commercial partnerships. With a stable of quality writers and exciting directing talent, Lime has gained a reputation as a first class production house. The company works with big talent to deliver distinctive, ground-breaking projects. Already responsible for defining the genre of Reality Drama with multi-award winning shows like The Only Way is Essex (ITVBe), Geordie Shore (MTV) and Educating Joey Essex (ITV2) Lime is constantly working on new ideas that will push the boundaries of Childrens (recent credits include Disney’s Evermoor, Rocket’s Island for CBBC and House of Anubis for Nickelodeon), Drama including 2014’s Best British Soap Hollyoaks (C4) and Entertainment production.