CHANNEL 4 SCREENWRITING COURSE 2026
I’m very pleased to be able to tell you that we will once again be running the Channel 4 screenwriting course in 2026. We will be accepting entries from 9am on September 22nd to 5pm on Monday October 6th.
All the information you need about entering is on the Channel 4 screenwriting course page on my website; and that is where you can enter
https://script-consultant.co.uk/channel-4-screenwriting-course/
But here are some (hopefully) useful tips if you’re interested in submitting a script –
Take your time and don’t hurry your entry – it’s a (slightly) involved process, in that you need to give us a logline and upload both your CV and script. It will take you a few minutes. Giving yourself enough time to enter means NOT leaving it to the last minute. We don’t accept late submissions. Make sure you have written the very best logline you can before you start uploading. Don’t try to come up with it as part of the entry upload process.
All three elements are important. The logline can be really helpful in introducing and framing the script you submit.
NB The logline is for the project you are submitting. If you get a place on the course, you will be writing a new and entirely different script to the one you submit.
Make sure that you upload the script and CV successfully and in the right place. Every year we get a significant minority that don’t upload correctly.
You should receive an automatic email confirming receipt. Please check your junk folder if it hasn’t arrived within a few minutes.
You can submit any sort of dramatic writing – screenplay (whether for film or TV), stage play or audio drama.
You can only submit a script if you haven’t previously submitted it for the C4 screenwriting course (unless you identify as disabled). New drafts or retitled versions of scripts previously submitted won’t be considered.
The script you submit needs to be completed. We don’t accept sections of scripts.
We are looking for as wide a range of diverse scripts and writers as possible (and this covers all areas of diversity – age, gender, ethnicity, regionality, voice, disability, sexuality, etc.). So please, if applicable, make this clear on your CV.
Presentation is important. Make sure you’ve given your submitted script that all-important proof-read for clarity and accuracy. When you’re reading as many scripts as we are, typos, misspellings, incorrect and unclear formatting – and unclear storytelling – can feel disproportionately off-putting.
Please read all the information and FAQs so that you know everything you need to know before entering.
I hope the testimonials from writers who have been on the course will both inform and encourage you to enter.
Submit your passion project, the script you passionately believe in and that articulates who you are as a person and writer – don’t try to second-guess what the industry is looking for.
While we (ideally) want writers who have watched a lot of Channel 4 drama and have some sort of Channel 4 sensibility, this is very hard to define and constantly changing. Write what you believe in – not what you guess we may be looking for. Like everyone (even if they say otherwise), we don’t know what we’re looking for until we read it!
The bottom line is that we are likely to receive 2000+ entries and can only take 12 writers on the course (and a further 12 on our informal mentoring scheme). So don’t take it as a judgement if you don’t make the shortlist. You will be in exceptionally good company. Nearly everyone who has been chosen for the course has applied and not been chosen several times before they eventually get onto the course. Assessing scripts and writing is by its very nature subjective.
Finally, in advance, a massive thank you for taking the time and trouble to write a completed script and submit it. For me and the readers it’s an enormous privilege and learning experience to read so many new and exciting scripts. We learn something from every script we read.
Good luck!
The next newsletter will be on Friday September 26th.
Best wishes
Phil
PHILIP SHELLEY
Friday September 12th 2025
