5 in the U.K. has unveiled the first four commissions for its revived Play for Today slate, with each single drama focused on championing new voices.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlay for Today is synonymous with high-quality stand-alone television dramas, and we\u2019re incredibly excited to be reviving it with a new slate of single films on 5,” said Paul Testar, commissioning editor at 5. “What makes this particularly important for us as a public-service broadcaster is the opportunity to support emerging talent behind the scenes\u2014from writers and directors to production teams\u2014especially those from lower-income backgrounds who haven\u2019t always had clear pathways into the industry. It\u2019s a chance to tell great stories while helping to shape the future of British drama.\u201d<\/p>\n
LA Productions and Vertigo Films have each received two commissions for the slate. From LA Productions comes Special Measures<\/em>, from new screenwriter and playwright Lee Thompson and Jack McLoughlin making his directorial debut, starring Jessica Plummer; and Big Winners, penned by Martha Watson Allpress.<\/p>\n Vertigo Films is making Never Too Late<\/em> with a cast that includes Anita Dobson, Nigel Havers and Tracy-Ann Oberman. Simon Warne and Lydia Marchant will pen the script. Vertigo is also preparing the psychological thriller Intruder with Alan Davies and Nikki Amuka-Bird, directed by Daniel Rands.<\/p>\n Production has begun across all titles with the first drama set to air on 5 at the end of this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 5 in the U.K. has unveiled the first four commissions for its revived Play for Today slate, with each single drama focused on championing new voices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":23237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[761,5513,11227],"class_list":["post-23228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-channel-5","tag-paul-testar","tag-play-for-today","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n