Twenty writers join Channel 4’s nine-month UK-wide New Writers Scheme

12 July 2024

Twenty people from across the UK have joined a Channel 4 scheme designed to work with TV drama writers in the West and South West of England and Wales, North of England, and Scotland – providing them with months of expert industry training, mentoring and support to develop their first pilot episode-spec script.

4Skills launched this year’s New Writers Scheme last week with an aim to nurture underrepresented writing talent, focussing on diverse, regional and authentic voices who have a flair for television drama.

Following the successful pilot in the West and South West of England in 2022, the programme has since expanded to work with participants located near Channel 4’s regional hubs: Bristol, Glasgow and Leeds. The writers will benefit from nine months of expert industry training and mentoring from scripted indies and a script editor, alongside feedback from Channel 4. 

As part of the kick-off, screenwriters from the regional hubs met at Channel 4’s Leeds office for three days of introductions, writing tips and training with NFTS trainer Hannah Robinson and heard from the experts including Nicola Shindler, Danny Brocklehurst, Helen Black and Director of Film4 & Channel 4 Drama, Ollie Madden.

Ollie Madden, Director of Film4 & Channel 4 Drama, said: “It was very exciting to meet with such a talented group of writers, who all bring an incredible depth of creativity, specificity and passion to their projects. I am truly looking forward to seeing how this year’s cohort develop their skills in the months ahead.”

The New Writers Scheme is funded and developed by 4Skills with Channel 4 Drama and supported by the BFI NETWORK (Film Hub South West and Film Hub North) alongside support from Screen Scotland. 

The initiative is one of many projects being supported by 4Skills, which provided more than 57,000 learning, training or development opportunities in 2023.

Kevin Blacoe, Channel 4’s Head of Partnerships & Skills, Nations & Regions said:

“4Skills is designed to open doors for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds and various regions across the UK, providing opportunities for those who typically wouldn’t have access to the behind-the-scenes world of television.

By guiding them as they advance in their careers, we are also investing in the future of television. Our goal is to ensure that every voice, both on-screen and off, is heard and valued.”

Alice Cabañas, Head of BFI NETWORK, said: “We are proud to be supporting this scheme in its second year; a valuable development programme for emerging regional writers who are looking to progress their careers and add their fresh perspectives to the industry”.

Kieran Hannigan, Head of Scripted at Screen Scotland said: “It’s incredibly exciting to see Channel 4 working with some of the brightest emerging writing talents in Scotland. For each participant, this is a unique opportunity to develop an original idea with input from a strong drama indie and build a connection with Channel 4.”

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For Channel 4 press enquiries, contact Rachel Owbridge on ROwbridge@channel4.co.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

Meet the Writers

• Bristol

Adiza Shardow

Adiza Shardow is a Scottish/Ghanian writer performer. Acting Credits include Waterloo Road (BBC), Casualty (BBC), River City (BBC), BAFTA winning Last Commanders (CBBC) . Adiza won the Sky arts award 2021 with The Royal Society of Literature for screen writing and developed a TV pilot with mentor Tanika Gupta and head of the programme Bernadine Evaristo. Adiza was also mentored by Theresa Ikoko on the Bridge programme. She was recently part of the Short Circuit Convergence 2023 developing her Short Film “Hair-Spotting.” Adiza loves writing complex and universal stories showcasing communities that aren’t usually represented.

Alex Smith

Alex MJ Smith is a comedy and drama writer based in Cornwall. He was one of the lead writers on the BBC Radio 4 sketch show Wosson Cornwall, he writes hundreds of jokes every week for brands, and his adult animated fantasy sitcom is in development with Big Deal Films. His TV drama projects combine hooky genre premises with real-world themes that are personal to him including chronic illness, mental health and parental loss, always with a dash of dark humour. He enjoys standing next to or in front of trees (pictured).

Arran Shargall

Arran Shargall has worked in scripted TV drama for 10 years, from being an intern on Continuing Drama to working their way up to becoming a story producer on HETV. They’ve dedicated much of their life to their ultimate passion for storytelling, but their truest joy comes from their own writing. They love to challenge and entertain audiences by exploring underrepresented and misrepresented characters and themes through thrilling stories and humour that (hopefully!) offer a unique insight into pockets of society that we haven’t seen on screen quite like this before.

Corinne Walker

Corinne Walker is a Bristol-based writer, director and performer. She is passionate about telling diverse, local stories with a political edge and championing regional, underrepresented talent. She has written for audio, animation and stage. Corinne was selected as a BBC New Creative for her short film Clifford which she wrote and directed. Her BFI NETWORK-funded film Homegrown is currently on its festival run and has screened at BAFTA and BIFA-qualifying festivals including Encounters and Norwich. She is an alumni of We are Parable’s Momentum scheme, BFI Network SW’s New Voices scheme and the Script Development Lab. She is currently working on her Arts Council funded play The Fight Well Project which premieres in September at Camden People’s Theatre.

Hannah Ali Khan

Hannah is a script writer for stage and screen whose work examines and reflects the communities and experiences around her. She is keen to explore stories centred around young British-Asian women, and stories that examine and develop young adult cancer narratives. Recently, she has taken part in the Kali Discovery program and was selected as an Offbeat Supported Artist. Her writing experience has been mainly for the theatre, with her most recent project a one-woman play about cancer which will be performed in September. She is excited to expand her skills to the TV medium through the scheme.

Helen Price

Helen Price is a writer from south Wales. After attending university in the US, she returned to the UK to complete a master’s degree in Criminology. She then worked as a journalist at the BBC on shows including BBC News at Six, BBC News at Ten, and BBC Politics London. She has written for a variety of BBC Radio comedy shows and satirical online publications, and performs sketch and stand up comedy.

Sarah Louise Madden

Sarah Louise Madden is a Welsh writer who uses genre as a Trojan Horse to explore themes of working class and mental health. Having lived below the poverty line she is passionate about showcasing an authentic experience of this on screen, disrupting the commonly portrayed poverty porn of our estates.

A former secondary English teacher, she became an Assistant Script Editor on His Dark Materials S3 and then an Assistant Script Editor for World Productions Wales. She is finishing her second year of MA Screenwriting at the National Film and Television School, made possible by a full BAFTA scholarship.

• Glasgow

Anna Stewart

Anna Stewart is a writer from Dundee. She is a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Awardee and was shortlisted for The Royal Academy and Pin Drop Short Story Award, Bloody Scotland's Short Story Competition, and Scots Writer of the Year. Her stories have been published in anthologies including, Scotland After the Virus (Luath Press), A Short Affair (Scribner) and Gutter Magazine. Recently, she wrote and recorded the story, ‘A Day Oot Wi Dad’ (BBC Scotland online). Her short screenplay, ‘Immune’ was produced by Reanne Farley and Jonathan Brooks, and was part of the official selection for London Independent Film Festival, 2024.

Asia Goldie

A Glasgow based screenwriter and script editor, Asia has worked in the editorial teams of High-End TV Dramas such as Nightsleeper (BBC) and Bad Sisters (Apple TV). Graduating from Screen Academy Scotland with a master’s degree in Screenwriting, Asia went on to a career in TV Production, whilst pursuing her passion for scripted development. Taking influence from her own identity, Asia’s work showcases disabled and working-class characters, using comedy drama to explore what unites people within difficult and divisive circumstances.

Kaljeven Singh Lally

Kaljeven is a Writer/Director based in Scotland. He began working professionally in the Film and Television industry in Post Production, going from a Trainee to Assistant Editor to Editor.  As a Director he gained his first Broadcast Credit in 2021, with an Episode of the Continuing Drama River City. This has led to him Directing several Blocks of the show since and he’s also worked as a 2nd Unit Director on Shetland Season 8 and Screw Season 2. With his writing he focuses more on the unique and specific stories related to his voice and lived experiences.

Kitty Banks

Kitty studied Film and Visual Culture with Gaelic Studies as a Joint Honours MA at the University of Aberdeen. Here, she achieved a First-Class degree in 2021 and was the recipient of the Rev. Malcolm Laing Award for Gaelic Folklore. Discovering that storytelling is where her true passion lies, she went on to do a Master’s degree in Screenwriting at the University of Manchester, graduating with Distinction in 2022. Currently, she works as a VFX Production Coordinator in Glasgow, while continuing to write scripts in her free time and partaking in the Glasgow (2023) and Edinburgh (2024) 48-Hour Film Projects.

Rachel Main

Rachel is a playwright and screenwriter from Glenrothes, Scotland. Her writing career began when she received a scholarship to study MFA in Dramatic Writing at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts from 2017-2019. She is an alumni of Traverse Young Writer’s Group, BBC Scottish Voices and is a two-time BAFTA LA Scholarship recipient. Her work is concerned with representing working-class, queer, disability & caregiver narratives on stage and screen.

Her plays have been commissioned through WoLab and Paines Plough’s First Commissions programme and by Playwrights Studio Scotland’s New Playwright Award. Her screenwriting work has been commissioned by GMAC, Short Circuit’s First Features programme and the Alfred P. Sloan award. She has been short-listed for Sundance Theatre Lab, Theatre503 Five and Young Films Foundation’s Skye Residency

Marcelle Nuke

Marcelle Nuke is an Edinburgh-based emerging filmmaker. Starting out as a poet, she went on to write and direct her debut 15-minute short Milkgum, which premiered at Glasgow Short Film Festival 2024 and was funded by Short Circuit, Screen Scotland, and BFI Network. Milkgum is an elevated drama about an escort and young mother, Sel, who discovers an Oedipal creature ensnaring the men in her life. Marcelle is now embarking upon the 2024 Channel 4 New Writers Scheme, developing DAMSELS, a TV drama about motherhood and madness. She always seeks to upend what people expect from marginalised narratives.

 

• Leeds

Cormac Cahill

Cormac Cahill is an Irish writer based in Leeds. Having honed his storytelling skills over ten years within continuing drama, Cormac currently works as the Story Editor on ITV’s Emmerdale. Whilst he’s lived in Yorkshire for over a decade, Cormac still enjoys viewing all things British through an outsider's perspective and his scripts offer a unique take on everything from patriotism to the UK’s obsession with class. Whether it’s a thriller rammed with shocking twists or a dark comedy filled with flawed characters, Cormac’s scripts will reel you in and leave you on the edge of your seat.

Emma Doherty

Emma is a teacher and writer from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. She has attended screenwriting courses at the National Film & Television School and has been pursuing a career in film and television ever since. Her first TV Pilot was longlisted for The Alfred Bradley Bursary Award which was run via the BBC Writersroom. She was also shortlisted for the Film Hub North Script Lab in 2022 and the BFI Short Film Hub in 2023.

Jamal Gerald

Jamal Gerald is an artist and writer based in Leeds. His work is conversational, unapologetic, and provocative with a social message.
Jamal has undertaken research in Montserrat and Trinidad and Tobago through support from Arts Council England. In 2023, he did an artist residency with RISCO festival in São Paulo, Brazil. His work has also been shown at Kampnagel, SPILL Festival, Royal Court, New Performance Turku, Battersea Arts Centre, and the Barbican.
Jamal is a Recipient of a Jerwood Arts’ Live Work Fund Award (2021), Another Route Fellowship (2022) and was shortlisted for the Adopt A Playwright Award (2023).

Lauren Hurwood

Lauren is a writer/actor from mighty Leeds. She trained at RCS in Glasgow, and Northern Stage in Newcastle. Her writing is a love note to the cities she knows and loves, and it’s people - it’s far from grim up North! Lauren is a member of BAFTA Connect. Through BAFTA Connect Calls she was paired with Daisy May Cooper who mentored her on her first TV project, subsequently optioned by Shiny Button. She’s co-developing ‘Georgian Shore’ to headline Live Theatre’s new writing festival; as well as developing various TV ideas. Her writing explores our flaws, foibles and vulnerabilities; it celebrates us complex humans and the contradictory messy bits of life.

Lekhani Chirwa

Lekhani is a writer and actor based in Manchester. She is queer, working class and neurodivergent disabled and her unique background has empowered her to become a powerful voice. Lekhani has worked with various companies such as BBC, Box of Tricks, Her Productions, ShyBairn Theatre and more. Lekhani is the inaugural recipient of the Wyllie Longmore Award. Her passion lies in telling stories that often go unheard. She's dedicated to reflecting the diverse experiences of those within our society who don't always have a voice. Her work is an inspiring testament to the power of storytelling and its ability to connect us all.

Michelle Collier

Michelle Collier is a writer and narrative designer based in Manchester. She writes for animation, games and immersive experiences, as well as short fiction and the occasional experimental poem. As a scriptwriter, her work has been nominated for various awards and screened at Depict!, London Short Film Festival, Manchester Animation Festival, Underwire and more. She’s also a member of BAFTA Connect and one of York Mediale’s Immersive Assembly for 2024.
 

Michelle is inspired by all sorts, from regional folklore to working class identities, to how technology is shaping our lives. She especially loves strange tales, dark humour and morally ambiguous misfits.

Rhianne Deans

Rhianne is an emerging writer passionate about exploring the intricacies of the human connection. Over the years, she's honed her skills as a storyteller and even more over the last year as a writer on the inaugural WFTV Kay Mellor Screenwriters Lab, learning under the guidance of industry experts such as Lisa Holdsworth and Sally Wainwright. Her portfolio includes diverse narratives, such as a coming-of-age sports drama about a young girl from a small town striving to make it in the footballing world, and a family comedy featuring three adult siblings navigating their parents' late-in-life divorce. At the heart of her writing are compelling, relatable stories that resonate with audiences and reflect the complexity of human relationships.

 

 

About 4Skills

4Skills is Channel 4’s nationwide training and development strategy which aims to create thousands of opportunities nationwide with a particular focus on people from diverse and disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds who want a career in broadcasting. (https://careers.channel4.com/4skills)

In 2022 4Skills generated more than 23,000 training, development and learning opportunities for people across the UK, focusing on people from underrepresented groups. It delivered more than 4,000 career progression opportunities through fast track schemes, bursaries, training and mentoring and more than 200 paid entry level roles including internships, apprenticeships and production training schemes.

 

4Skills invests £5m in training, development and learning opportunities annually and this will double to £10m by 2025.

 

About BFI NETWORK

Made possible through National Lottery funding, BFI NETWORK exists to support and develop talented early career screenwriters, directors and producers. We collaborate with film organisations and leading cultural venues across the UK to provide funding for short films, support for the development of first features, as well as a range of professional and creative development programmes.

Find out more and watch supported work: https://network.bfi.org.uk/ 

@bfinetwork 

The BFI is a cultural charity, a National Lottery distributor, and the UK’s lead organisation for film and the moving image. Our mission is:

 

• To support creativity and actively seek out the next generation of UK storytellers
• To grow and care for the BFI National Archive, the world’s largest film and television archive To offer the widest range of UK and international moving image culture through our programmes and festivals - delivered online and in venue
• To use our knowledge to educate and deepen public appreciation and understanding
• To work with Government and industry to ensure the continued growth of the UK’s screen industries

Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter. 

The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Jay Hunt.

About Screen Scotland

Screen Scotland drives development of all aspects of Scotland’s film and tv industry, through funding and strategic support.

Screen Scotland is part of Creative Scotland and delivers these services and support with funding from Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Find out more at screen.scot and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.