The 2016 TV Drama Writers’ Festival, chaired by Kay Mellor, OBE, took place in London on Monday, 18 July. There’s a great blog about the event written by Hannah Khalil who shares some of the insights the various panels delivered and we’ve got a smattering of pics and recollections of the festival below…
The festival began with Kay Mellor (right) interviewed by Anne Edyvean, Head of BBC Writersroom. Kay called for more voices to be heard on television and emphasized that writers must be resilient and determined, reflecting that she had to battle for 8 years to get her breakthrough drama, Band of Gold, into production.
Wait a minute! Vinay Patel! Aren’t you supposed to be on stage? (We've got an interview with the writer of Murdered by my Father which you can check out now!)
Ahh, Vinay made it to the stage for the ‘Telling society’s secret stories’ session with Brian Fillis (An Englishman in New York), chaired by Aysha Rafaele.
‘Renewing old voices – the art of the adaptation’ was discussed by (r-l) Sarah Phelps, Roanna Benn (chair) Peter Straughan and Simon Nye.
Like Kay Mellor, Sarah stressed that writers have to be determined, but she also offered a degree of hope – ‘Kick on a door long enough and they have to open it eventually!’ she told the audience, referring to TV commissioners. She also offered nuggets of advice… ‘If you want to be universal you have to be very specific,’ she explained. ‘For me, specifics are what often unlock it all.’
BBC Blue Room were also in attendance, demonstrating new technology and associated content.
This pic shows an attendee giving virtual reality a whirl, and at the same time it suggests our photographer spent the day stalking Vinay Patel.
Peter Bowker and Danny Brocklehurst kept audiences entertained throughout their discussion on how to pitch. In her blog, Hannah Khalil recalls some gems from the session – well worth a read!
Peter Straughan, the award-winning writer of Wolf Hall, discusses the show with Kate Rowland (former Head of BBC Writersroom). And you can read an interview with Peter who spills the beans on scripting the series, working with novelist Hilary Mantel and how The Godfather Part 2 helped with structure!
From Wolf Hall to Tony Hall…
The BBC’s Director-General joined the festival for a fascinating ‘in conversation’ session with Kay Mellor. Tony Hall stressed the importance of writers to the BBC, suggesting their work and creativity were vital.
Our guest tweeter for several of the afternoon sessions was Cariad Lloyd (aka @LadyCariad) who brought some much needed wit and irreverence to our twitter feed. Talking of which, here are some little sound bites we posted on the day…
- ‘Rejection is terrible all the time! It doesn't get easier, it gets deeper. But you do bounce back.’ - Sarah Phelps
- ‘Limited whining time. You're allowed a week maybe, but not publicly. Don't get stuck on it, it warps you.’ - Alice Nutter
- ‘A little bit of arrogance and a healthy dose of ignorance will get you through anything...' - Dennis Kelly
Check out our feed at @bbcwritersroom to peruse a few more!
Sharon Horgan… When asked which shows she wishes she’d written, she replied ‘Happy Valley… or Seinfeld coz I would’ve made loads of money!’
Look who we saw attending the festival… It’s Sarah Dollard! Perhaps best-known for her recent work on Doctor Who, you can see her discussing her first episode of the show in this interview from 2015. And talking of Doctor Who…
Russell T Davies, the man behind Doctor Who’s resurrection in 2005 (as well as Torchwood, Queer as Folk, Casanova, Cucumber and a whole bunch of TV hits) was one of the panellists on the penultimate session which looked at the role of showrunners.
Russell made the point that show-running was not for every writer but advised writers who are interested in that aspect of the industry to get on set and see how a series is made... but be professional and courteous on set – look to learn, initially, and not to interfere!
The festival ended with a captivating ‘in conversation’ session, chaired by Chris Aird. Industry legend, Frank Spotnitz, who’s worked on everything from Millennium to The Man in the High Castle, was brilliant, sharing wisdom gathered throughout over 20 years in the business. Frank discussed the US model of writers rooms and offered some lovely insights into collaboration. (‘You know, it is important to be nice!’)
He also enthralled audiences with anecdotes from shows like The X Files (‘I think that's why The X Files endures. Not because of the monsters. But because of Mulder and Scully and their relationship.’) and basically offered an inspiring overview of creativity in television. Did you know, for example, that Frank dislikes writing show bibles, believing they stifle creative thought? He recounted how if forced to create such a document he would comply, whilst cheerfully telling fellow execs he’d ignore it when it came to plotting the show!
You can get more of Frank’s view of writing in this archive interview with the man himself!
Thanks to everyone involved in the event – organisers, panellists, audience members and those who joined in via twitter. And don’t forget to check out Hannah’s report on the 2016 TV Drama Writers’ Festival in her 'About the BBC' blog!
