TVDRAMA
Channel 4 has entered a new three-year partnership with New Writing North to support the development of new and emerging writers in the North of England as part of its 4Skills strategy.
The partnership will include bursaries, bespoke programs of talent development, screen industry insight and expertise, networking, mentoring and peer support to help foster writing talent and those that may want to cross over into screenwriting from other art forms.
It will deliver the Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards, in which Channel 4 will support four emerging writers, selected via open call, for a talent development program, and Slate and Screen Play Weekends, in which Channel 4 will support eight writers who have not supported on screenplays before to attend two weekend events. Also, New Writing North will lead and manage a development slate, and Channel 4 will support five writers with screenwriting experience to be part of this slate, which will get their projects ready.
Additionally, Channel 4 will support three open-access community events across the North each year, as well as script hubs, peer-group spaces that provide a safe and supportive environment for a group of up to ten new writers. Channel 4 will support two new script hubs for writers facing intersectional challenges. One will be in person in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and the other will be online.
This comes at a time of significant expansion for the screen industry in the region, as the North East has seen an 89 percent increase in film and TV production over the last two years.
New Writing North has increased its programs of support for screenwriters in recent years. The flagship Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards have supported screenwriters such as Sharma Angel-Walfall, who has been announced as a new writer for Doctor Who; BAFTA-nominated Jayshree Patel, who has written for Hollyoaks; and Adam Bennett-Lea, who received a commission from Bonafide and Channel 4 and has worked on Waterloo Road.
New Writing North also created an in-house screen development producer role in 2023 and has established partnerships with North East Screen, Film4, BBC, Red Production Company, Bonafide Films and Rollem Productions.
“Channel 4 is committed to nurturing new talent, particularly people from backgrounds who may have never have considered a career in the creative industries,” said Sinead Rocks, Channel 4’s managing director for Nations and Regions. “The partnership between 4Skills and New Writing North will help identify talent from regions like the North-East, voices which otherwise might go unheard just because of where or who they are. We’re determined to address that imbalance and create opportunities for a new generation of writers, which is why this partnership is so important and exciting.”
Anna Disley, executive director of program and impact at New Writing North, commented, “Our long-established partnership with Channel 4, and now 4Skills, has enabled us to discover and develop some of the most exciting, diverse and talented writers in the U.K. Stories by writers such as Sharma Angel-Walfall are appearing on our TV screens week in, week out. However, the industry is still very London-centric, and this is often reflected in the stories we see on TV. New Writing North plays a vital role in creating change in the TV sector. And at a time of opportunity and investment in screen in the North, our partnership with 4Skills will enable us to do more to find talent from all corners of the North and help it find a place on national and international screens. We’re grateful for the ongoing support of Channel 4 and the team at 4Skills and out valued production company partners.”
