About Me | Philip Shelley - Script Consultant

About Me

Shelley Family I started as a freelance script reader \ consultant,

Working for many different companies including the BBC, Granada TV, Thames TV, the First Film Foundation, Channel 4 Film, Paramount Pictures, Paines Plough Theatre Company… before working as a development script editor, at Granada TV Drama, and then at LWT Drama. I then went on to work as a production script-editor on MEDICS (Granada \ ITV), STAYING ALIVE (LWT \ ITV) and THE KNOCK (Bronson Knight Productions \ LWT \ ITV).

I spent 7 years at Carlton TV Drama, as Head of Development, then as Producer. At Carlton I was script editor on the last two INSPECTOR MORSE films, KAVANAGH QC, ANYBODY’S NIGHTMARE, THE WAITING TIME, NOAH’S ARK and many other shows. At Carlton I produced FIRST SIGN OF MADNESS II ( a series of 4 x 30′ monologues by new writers, starring Pam Ferris, James Bolam, Emma Chambers and Martin Hancock) which won awards at the New York Film & TV Festival, Worldfest Houston and the Columbus International Film & Video Festival; MARGERY & GLADYS, a 2 hour film for ITV, written by John Flanagan & Andy McCulloch, directed by Geoffrey Sax; and MAKING WAVES, a 6 x 1 hour series for ITV, about life in the contemporary Royal Navy.

I went on to script-edit:-

A GOOD MURDER (Sally Head Productions \ ITV) and the last two series of WAKING THE DEAD (BBC TV).

For 5 years I ran the CARLTON SCREENWRITERS COURSE, an initiative to discover and nurture writers new to TV drama. Here is a list of some of the success stories we had on the course and some of the shows they have worked on since completing the course:-

Chris Chibnall (Born & Bred, Torchwood, Broadchurch)
Charlotte Jones (The Palace)
Damian Wayling (Waking The Dead, Garrow’s Law, Call The Midwife)
Alison Hume (The Vice, Rocket To The Moon, The Sparticle Mystery)
Terry Cafolla (Messiah, Holy Cross, The Whale, The Crash)
Gurpreet Bhatti (Eastenders, Hollyoaks, Everywhere & Nowhere)
Sharon Foster (Shoot The Messenger, BabyFather)

These are a few of the other many successful writers I have worked with, and the shows I worked on with them:-

Simon Ashdown (Staying Alive)
Malcolm Bradbury (Inspector Morse)
Declan Croghan (Waking The Dead)
Stephen Churchett (Inspector Morse, Kavanagh QC)
John Flanagan & Andy McCulloch (Anybody’s Nightmare, Margery & Gladys)
Peter Flannery (The Mapmaker’s Dream – Carlton TV development project)
Lucy Gannon (Plain Jane)
Neil McKay (Medics; Staying Alive)
David Nicholls ( Carlton development projects)
Simon Nye (The Railway Children; Goldfingered – Shelley productions development project)
Peter Ransley (A Good Murder)
Ed Whitmore (Waking The Dead)

I also ran two BBC-TV Training Courses for script editors and taught on the BBC in-house screenwriting course in 2007.

Click here to contact me…

As well as running the website I still currently work actively in the TV and film industry. As producer, I have recently had two projects in active, paid development – a feature film, THE BASILDON BRAWL, funded by the UK Film Council, and THE WORLD OF JOE, a sit-com, funded by BBC Comedy and then Tiger Aspect.

I am now in my tenth year of running the Channel 4 screenwriting course, an initiative to identify and work with 12 writers new to television and to introduce them to Channel 4 drama. The course lasts for 6 months each year; and I am now working on the 2021 course.

Writers from this course have gone onto success in the industry, working on Channel 4 shows such as COMING UP, SHAMELESS, BANANA, INDIAN SUMMERS and YOUNGERS – as well developing their own original projects with Channel 4. Writers who have done the course include – CHARLIE COVELL (The End Of The F***ing World), VINAY PATEL (Murdered By My Father, Dr Who), ANNA SYMON (Mrs Wilson, Deep Water), NATHANIEL PRICE (Tin Star),

I also run my own independent screenwriting courses – CREATIVITY FOR SCRIPTWRITERS; a 2 day weekend SCREENWRITING course, a 1 day INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING course and a 4 week WRITING A SHORT FILM SCRIPT course (see TRAINING pages).

I have run a series of 2 day SCRIPT-EDITING courses around the UK for Grand Scheme Media / Creative Skillset; and during lockdown have run online courses for SCREENSKILLS, the BFI and BBC STUDIOS.

Among many others, I have run screenwriting or script-editing courses for –

ScreenTraining Ireland
Northern Ireland Screen
The Indie Training Fund
Singapore Media Academy
BBC / Arab Film Studio
And Guardian Masterclass

Grand Scheme course3 More recent work includes script development \ editing work for some of the UK’s leading independent production companies – Kindle Entertainment, Nutopia and Bryncoed Productions.

At Kindle, I worked with writers on two new series ideas, development work funded by broadcasters. At Nutopia, I wrote a proposal for a big-budget drama development idea, and recommended and sourced writers for the project.

I script-edited BBC Radio drama series UNDERCOVER MUMBAI written by Ayeesha Menon, for Goldhawk productions / BBC; and I am currently developing a feature film with producer Jon Martin.

I am contacted regularly by literary agents, producers and production companies who are looking for screenwriters and script editors.

Here are some links on other websites to some of the courses I run –

http://www.arabfilmstudio.ae/about-us/what-is-afs-/

http://www.mediaacademy.sg/page/masterclass/masterclass-script-editing

http://www.dmu.ac.uk/study/courses/postgraduate-courses/television-scriptwriting/television-scriptwriting-ma.aspx

http://www.bathspa.ac.uk/schools/humanities-and-cultural-industries/courses/postgraduate/scriptwriting

http://www.arts.ac.uk/csm/courses/postgraduate/ma-dramatic-writing-drama-centre-london/

http://www.indietrainingfund.com/courses/production/script-editing-essentials/

http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-masterclasses/2015/may/28/london-writers-week-screenwriting-and-script-editing-with-philip-shelley-writing-course

http://madramaticwriting.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2015/01/25/second-year-masterclasses-two-philip-shelley-by-liberty-martin/

http://www.screentrainingireland.ie/tutors/philip-shelley-script-consultant/

http://www.mediaacademy.sg/page/MASTERCLASS-1/MASTERCLASS%3A-Dramatic-Storytelling

http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/whats-on/sessions/breaking-into-c4-how-to-fast-track-your-way-into-tv-drama

http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/whats-on/sessions/script-lab-1-creating-tv-drama-series-with-top-script-consultant-philip-shelley

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TESTIMONIALS

‘I can highly recommend using Phil’s mentoring service. During my six months working with Phil I found him to be both insightful and fully supportive. He will push you to write the best that you can! In my case Phil encouraged me to write from my own personal experience and the resulting, competition winning script has given me a great career boost. It’s been well received in the industry and opened many doors. I started with a one line idea and Phil guided me through the treatment stage and on to several script drafts. Phil even sent the finished script to producers and agents within the TV industry on my behalf. It’s been the most useful step I’ve taken in my writing career to date!’
ANN HAWKER

‘‘Phil’s feedback, whether it be for scripts, treatments or sketchy ideas, was consistently excellent. Consise yet effective, he pulled no punches when something was not working and offered constructive solutions on making my scripts the best they can be in a limited time frame. He went above and beyond in introducing me to the market in the UK and his outstanding reputation in the industry definitely opened doors for me. He didn’t vanish once the mentorship was done, either. He was always happy to provide support and answer any further questions I had. I have no hesitation in recommending his services.’’
KRISTINA JILLY

‘Philip has been instrumental in my development as a scriptwriter. When I first made the transition from journalism to script writing, Philip’s insightful advice and detailed notes lifted my first spec script to the next level. That script has since secured me industry jobs, from a film commission for an independent producer to writing episodes for a BBC1 continuing drama series. In addition, if Philip sees promise in you as a writer, he may recommend you for projects. In this way, I have worked as a scriptwriter and storyliner on an African TV drama (working in collaboration with Philip), a musical, and short corporate films for the NHS. I have no hesitation in recommending his services.’
JACQUI CANHAM, October 2018

‘I have been working with Philip for just over a year now and I am always impressed with his perceptiveness and honesty.
Philip’s Script Reports are very thorough and prompt, giving insightful and frank feedback on a number of areas, including presentation, marketability, structure, character and dialogue, as well as more specific detailed line notes. His suggestions are all incredibly helpful when it comes to sorting out issues in a script and certainly make me think deeper about my writing.
His feedback is not always what I ‘want’ to hear but, more often than not, what I ‘need’ to hear.
I like to get a variety of feedback on my scripts, but I always make sure Philip’s Script Consultancy Service is my first port of call.’
IAN HANDSeptember 2018

‘Dear Philip
Thank you so much for your help with my calling card script. You’ve taken me right through to what I hope will now be my final draft. I really value being able to work with you. Your notes are kind and very honest and have helped me to understand what it takes to write for the industry. It’s been so useful to be able to meet with you to discuss ideas and ways forward and to have one person to work with through the whole process. I want to thank you for genuinely wanting to help develop writers. And I want to thank you for pushing me to be my best. I’ve learnt so much.’
LESLEY ROBERTSSeptember 2018

‘While exposing your writing to criticism can be a daunting exercise, Phil has made it a liberating process. His notes are precise, and while dispassionate, he genuinely invested in my characters and helped me explore creative ways of developing my story. In short, not only do I now have a stronger screenplay, but I am also a better writer.’
JASON COLLINSeptember 2018

‘The advice and encouragement Philip gave me was invaluable when it came to knocking my second and subsequent drafts into better shape. He pointed out characters that didn’t add anything or have a distinct enough voice, suggested I make the A plot much stronger and advised me on script formatting amongst other things in his detailed feedback. All of these helped me write a calling card script that was much clearer in voice, tone and intent.’
STEVE HULMESSeptember 2018

‘Working with Philip Shelley has been a most illuminating experience and has helped me to open many doors. Philip’s insightful notes and feedback have taught me valuable lessons, most notably less is more and more is always possible if you challenge yourself and dare to dream. I’m very happy to report that the fourth draft of my feature film script “Big Ballerinas” has just been optioned by Australian producer, Craig Kocinski for OZPIX Entertainment.’
MARK FRITHSeptember 2018

‘I highly rate Philip as a script consultant. His attention to detail is impeccable and he analyses every aspect of the script in minute detail. Philip is very honest – which I really appreciate because one quality you need as a screenwriter is to be thick skinned. Philip’s feedback makes you stand back and revisit your script with a fresh perspective. He is extremely approachable and happy to discuss his feedback via email or by phone. Philip is very supportive and wants you to achieve your very best as a screenwriter.’
DEBORAH LEWISSeptember 2018

‘Philip Shelley’s script consultancy service has been a valuable resource to my development as a writer over the years. He is very encouraging when one of my screenplays has potential, and very honest when the overall idea needs completely re-evaluating. The feedback I receive is always insightful and constructive, and so far I have always been in agreement with his suggestions of what needs to be changed in order to progress my script to the next stage.’
VICK MARTINSeptember 2018

‘Philip has the unerring ability to cut to the chase and pinpoint problems and, just as importantly, strengths in a script. He has worked with me on several TV pilots and feature screenplays and his notes have been invaluable, giving me a really clear perspective on what has been achieved in the current draft and what needs to be done in the next.’
BRIAN LYNCH (BAFTA nominee) September 2018

‘Philip is someone rare in the world of script editing and consultancy. Not only is he able to offer knowledgeable, insightful advice about what works and what doesn’t, at the heart of everything he does is a desire to make the script the best it possibly can be – and this is invaluable. In short, I know he cares about the projects he’s working on and is someone I trust to give me honest and practical advice. When I’ve taken a script as far as I can by myself, it’s Philip I turn to.’
NIC JONESSeptember 2018