Theatre playwrights and TV screenwriters tend to be different animals who spend most of their time in one cage. Sir David Hare occasionally takes a break between National Theatre commissions to write a TV series, such as BBC Two’s recent Collateral, and Dennis Potter did a single theatre play, Sufficient Carbohydrate, but these were recognisably excursions from their main creative space.
Why will young people care about this? he asked at today’s Edinburgh International Television Festival, as he unveiled a slate of new programmes for the digital channel.
Among the commissions is a documentary telling the remarkable story of driver Billy Monger, one of Britain’s most exciting new racing drivers, who last year was involved in an accident which resulted in the loss of both legs.
Deep beneath the hustle and bustle on London’s Temple tube station, is hidden a dark secret: an illegal clinic set up in the abandoned network of underground tunnels.
Daniel (Strong) is a surgeon whose own trauma has led him to establish the clinic, making medicine available to any who need it. Assisted by grumbling Lee (Mays) and Anna (van Houten), the trio treat a variety of increasingly dangerous and desperate patients, testing Daniel’s morality to the limits.
Nicole Taylor - The Nest
RTS Award-winner Nicole Taylor’s emotional thriller, The Nest for BBC One is a six-part fictional drama exploring the consequences a deal for surrogacy made between a wealthy couple and a young woman.
Dan and Emily seem to have the perfect life in the picturesque suburbs of Glasgow, the only thing missing is a baby.
Gilgun stars as Vinnie, a jack the lad with a solid group of childhood friends, but a case of bipolar disorder.
Speaking about tackling such a personal issue Gilgun commented, “Bipolar is a big part of my life. We want to show that you can have mental health issues and in some cases live a productive, exciting life, full of adventure.”
Written and created by Marnie Dickens (Thirteen) Gold Digger tells the story of a woman who falls in love with a much younger man and the toll it takes on her already fractured family relationships.
Best known for her film roles including Sabrina and First Knight, Ormond will play the lead role of Julia Day in the six-part drama by Mainstreet Pictures.
The collection will showcase the work of three emerging female writers and directors from diverse backgrounds, as part of the 4Stories initiative.
The three stories are distinct but will be thematically linked and will aim to portray real life issues in contemporary Britain.
The films are as follows:
Through the Gates
The film has been written by prominent writer of film, television and theatre William Ivory (Made in Dagenham, Burton and Taylor), and will be directed by Gillies MacKinnon (Hideous Kinky, Small Faces)
Dramatising the story of Jayne Torvill and Chris Dean’s partnership, it will feature a host of British acting talent.
The story follows the pair’s motivations for taking to the ice, as Torvill found confidence in her dancing, and Dean channelled his anger from his parents’ separation into skating.
The annual BBC Writersroom scheme offers talented screenwriters the opportunity to write the first episode of a BBC original series or serial.
Writers must have at least one professionally produced piece of work of up to 30 minutes in length in television, radio, theatre or film to apply. Applicants must submit an original script alongside a one-sided pitch outlining the drama idea.
Sanditon, written just months before Austen’s death in 1817, tells the story of Charlotte Heywood, an impulsive and highly spirited young woman, and her spiky relationship with the wild and charming Sidney Parker.
After an accident sees the Heywood family transported from the rural hometown of Willingden to the up-and-coming seaside town of Sanditon, Charlotte is exposed to the intrigues of a town on the rise, and the people whose fortunes depend on its commercial success.
