Winners of the Channel 4 Writing for TV Awards were announced last evening at a ceremony hosted at Leeds Playhouse.
The awards, which launched in 2014, offer new television writers based in the North of England unique and career-changing opportunities. The ceremony featured speeches from the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, Head of Partnerships and Skills at Channel 4, Kevin Blacoe, and CEO of New Writing North, Claire Malcolm.
Funded by Channel 4’s 4Skills, the awards are part of the Northern Writers’ Awards – New Writing North’s flagship writer development programme – and form part of Channel 4 and New Writing North’s Talent Development Partnership.
Launched in 2022, the Talent Development Partnership aims to identify and support new writers, particularly those from backgrounds that are currently underrepresented in the television industry.
All three receive a package of support including a nine-month placement with either Bonafide Films (Mood; The Last Post), Red Production Company (It’s a Sin; Happy Valley) or Rollem Productions (Love Lies & Records; Girlfriends), alongside mentoring with an industry professional and a £3000 bursary.
Winner Rebecca Glendenning-Laycock, from Newcastle Upon Tyne, won the placement with Red Productions. To date, her work has been commissioned and staged by Live Theatre, Freedom Studios, and the Alphabetti Theatre.
Emily Low was awarded the placement with Rollem Productions. A performer, writer, and storyteller based in Tyne Valley; her first commission was staged at the Alphabetti Theatre this year, and she was selected to join the Live Playwriting community.
Nana-Kofi Kufuor from Stockport was awarded the placement with Bonafide Films. A British-Ghanaian playwright and screenwriter, his work has featured at Leeds Playhouse and the Edinburgh Fringe. He has written for Hollyoaks, Waterloo Road and has been commissioned by Sky and the BBC to write original works, which lean towards social and political stories through a hyper surreal lens.
Kevin Blacoe, Head of Partnerships and Skills at Channel 4:
“Congratulations to the incredible winners of this year’s Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards; they have all shown immense talent and creativity. 4Skills is proud to fund the awards and support new local talent. The placements and mentoring opportunities the winners have earned will undoubtedly open doors to set them on an exciting path in the world of television writing.”
Channel 4 and New Writing North have worked in partnership since 2014. The awards have already launched the television careers of several writers, including Sharma Walfall, who has gone on to work on productions including Noughts and Crosses and A Town Called Malice, and Jayshree Patel, whose Hollyoaks episodes were submitted for a BAFTA.
Former winners of the award were also in attendance, including Taiba Ahmad, and mentors from the programme, such as the West Yorkshire actor and writer, Kat Rose Martin. The Northern Talent Partnership also delivers a year-round programme of activities and opportunities for new and emerging television writers in the North of England. It operates a Channel 4 Northern Talent Network, which features script hubs in Newcastle, Bradford and online, screenwriting events delivered by industry professionals, and online masterclasses.
An additional ten shortlisted writers from the Channel 4 Writing for TV awards will be offered placements on the Script Development Group, with a bursary, peer-group sessions with agents, writers and producers, and in-depth script feedback.
