Over the last 11 years 4Screenwriting has been an invaluable course within the industry, creating the right conditions for new talent to flourish. The course reflects the channel’s commitment to finding and nurturing new voices and is a hothouse for writers to discover their own paths to making great television.

Since 2011, 4Screenwriting has scouted and worked with over 130 new writers, many of whom have gone on to enjoy notable screenwriting success.

The list of alumni includes screenwriters such as; Charlie Covell  (The End of the Fucking World, Banana); Anna Symon (Indian Summers, Mrs Wilson, The Essex Serpent), Theresa Ikoko (Rocks), Nathaniel Price (Noughts & Crosses, Tin Star, The Offenders) Adam Usden (Zero Chill), Namsi Khan (His Dark Materials, Humans), Chandni Lakhani (The Dublin Murders, Vigil).

Recent success stories include:  4Screenwriting alumni writing on C4 drama shows including Hollyoaks, Ackley Bridge, On The Edge, and the forthcoming Screw; several of the course projects are going into active development with Channel 4 Drama; writers with their own, authored shows, on established series going into production or in writers rooms with ITV, BBC, Channel 5, Sky, Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, etc.

From almost 4,000 applications, the 12 writers that were selected and completed the 2021 course are: Jeffrey Aidoo, Lisa Carroll, Laurence Clark, Patricia Cumper, Thara Popoola, Martha Reed, Owen Richards, Emilie Robson, Hannah Shury-Smith, Amy Trigg, Will Truefitt and Jingan Young.

The writers received motivational, creative and practical advice to kick-start their careers with talks from high-profile writers, producers, directors and members of the Channel 4 commissioning team. These included Russell T Davies (It’s A Sin, Doctor Who), Theresa Ikoko (Rocks, Snatches: Moments from Women’s Lives), Anna Symon (Deep Water, Mrs Wilson), Sarah Brown (Creative Director of Drama, STV), David Davis (Executive Producer, Bad Wolf Productions), Lynsey Miller (Deadwater Fell, The Boy With The Top Knot), Hilary Norrish (Top Boy, Little Birds), Kate Leys (Churchill, Benjamin) and from the Channel 4 Drama team; Gemma Boswell (Head of Development) and Rebecca Holdsworth (Drama Commissioning Executive).

In addition, the writers received the expertise and guidance of their own script editors whilst developing their own original one-hour drama or drama serial. Once completed, the scripts were assigned to actors to read sections, followed by discussion and analysis.

Head of Channel 4 Drama, Caroline Hollick said: “4Screenwriting is an integral part of Channel 4 Drama’s commitment to finding, nurturing, and developing new talent. With the stellar support of Philip Shelley, the scheme has consistently found original and distinctive voices and this year is no exception. The team and I are excited to support these exceptional writers on the next steps of their career and see them flourish in the industry.”

Writer Charlie Covell said: “4Screenwriting is one of the best things I’ve done— I learnt a huge amount and received amazing support and guidance. I think it really helped me find my voice as a writer, and thepractical advice in terms ofnavigating the industry was invaluable.”

The 4Screenwriting course is open to applicants without a screenwriting credit and gives the opportunity to work with a dedicated script editor to write an original script. 

The course will be running again for 2022. Entries for 2022 will be accepted from mid-September for 3 weeks and details for this will be updated on www.careers.channel4.com/4skills/talent-schemes/4screenwriting in the coming weeks.