Awards open doors to the TV industry for North East writers
Awards open doors to the TV industry for North East writers
Two aspiring TV writers from the North East are among the three winners of this year’s Channel 4 Writing for TV Awards, giving them a gilt-edged introduction to the industry.
Rebecca Glendenning-Laycock, from Newcastle, whose work has been commissioned and staged by Live Theatre, Freedom Studios and Alphabetti, won a placement with Red Productions, makers of It’s A Sin and Happy Valley.
You might also remember her performing at Live Theatre almost a year ago in the play trilogy Three Acts of Love.
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After the presentation at Leeds Playhouse, Rebecca said she felt “excited and privileged” to have won.
“The opportunity to work and collaborate with Red Productions and develop myself and my work is truly incredible,” she added.
“I can’t wait to see where it takes me.”
Fellow winner Emily Low, a performer, writer and storyteller from the Tyne Valley, was awarded a placement with Rollem Productions (Love Lies & Records; Girlfriends).
Emily, whose first commission was staged this year at Newcastle’s Alphabetti Theatre, said: “It means so much to me that New Writing North read my script and saw its potential as an original comedy drama.
“Before I won this award, I would watch brilliant shows on TV and daydream about what story I would tell if I ever got the chance. I feel very astonished and excited that I now have the opportunity to develop my own script with the wonderful Rollem Productions.”
The third winner, Nana-Kofi Kufuor from Stockport, was awarded a placement with Bonafide Films (Mood; The Last Post).
All three will receive professional mentoring and a £3,000 bursary.
The awards, first presented in 2014, are part of the Northern Writers’ Awards, the flagship writer development programme initiated by New Writing North, and are funded by Channel 4’s 4Skills.
They are also part of the talent development partnership established in 2022 by long-time collaborators New Writing North and Channel 4 to support new writers, especially those from backgrounds under-represented in television.
Ten shortlisted writers have also been invited to join a script development group with a bursary, script feedback and sessions with agents, writers and producers.