From Darkness - Ladykillers

At the time we set up the Ladykillers lab there was a heated debate about television crime and the way women were portrayed as victims.
— Kate Rowland (former Head of BBC Writersroom)

Kate Rowland is the former head of BBC Writersroom. She explains the origin of the BBC One drama 'From Darkness' at the Ladykillers residential development workshop for women writers who were interested in the crime genre.

"At the time we set up the Ladykillers lab there was a heated debate about television crime and the way women were portrayed as victims who were ‘ripped apart ‘ by men, passive bystanders in their own drama. It was happening to them, they became a plot point, a story device.

The best crime drama is about relationships, the complexity of human life and how when a metaphorical story bomb is dropped, how that impacts on the protagonists. You only have to look at Sally Wainwright's Happy Valley or Stephen Butchard’s Good Cop to see original drama that has context and depth.

The audience has a voracious appetite for crime, particularly women. I felt that perhaps there was something new we could do with our approach to crime drama. BBC Drama were enthusiastic about a targeted crime lab with just women writers participating. Manda Levin, (BBC Drama’s former Creative Director) and I planned a week where the writers could explore different ideas in a frank and open environment, have the opportunity to interrogate the essentials of great crime storytelling whilst developing their own new crime series. With frequent surgery sessions and the input of two fantastic writers Lizzie Mickery and Barbara Machin eight talented TV dramatists settled into the intensive crime lab at Bore Place in Kent.

Our aim was to bring something fresh to the crime table and at the end of the week pitch to the Controller of Drama Commissioning Ben Stephenson. Amongst some compelling ideas, and an amazing generosity of spirit it was immediately obvious that Katie Baxendale’s drama stood out. Her central character Claire Church was a bold central protagonist who resonated with everyone in the room. Hilary Martin (Head of BBC Drama North) took the idea into development and the rest is history.

What makes BBC Writersroom unique is the great partnerships we have with BBC Drama and it’s been particularly successful with Drama North."

From Darkness was broadcast on BBC One on Sunday nights from 4th to 25th October 2015