Channel 4 Screenwriting Course The entry process for the 2027 Channel 4 Screenwriting Course is now open! Course Content General The purpose of the course is to offer 12 writers new to television dram...

Channel 4 Screenwriting Course The entry process for the 2027 Channel 4 Screenwriting Course is now open! Course Content General The purpose of the course is to offer 12 writers new to television dram...

Hi There, A MANIFESTO FOR TV DRAMA IN THE UK IN 2026 At this particular moment it feels like the TV drama industry in the UK is in irrevocable and irreversible decline. Reflected (as obviously I also ...

Script Reading & Development Q&A Session via Zoom. Cost: £95.00  A semi-regular 2½ hour session, on Zoom, which I organise on demand. If you’re interested, would like to register your interest or have...

Channel 4 Screenwriting Course The entry process for the 2027 Channel 4 Screenwriting Course is now open! Course Content General The purpose of the course is to offer 12 writers new to television dram...

Script Reading & Development Q&A Session via Zoom. Cost: £95.00  A semi-regular 2½ hour session, on Zoom, which I organise on demand. If you’re interested, would like to register your interest or have...

Script Reading & Development Q&A Session via Zoom. Cost: £95.00  A semi-regular 2½ hour session, on Zoom, which I organise on demand. If you’re interested, would like to register your interest or have...

CHANNEL 4 SCREENWRITING COURSE 2027 I’m delighted to be able to announce the running of this course again in 2027 – the 17th year we’ve run the course. The entry submission period for scripts will run...

One Day Screenwriting Course Date: Saturday 14th November, 2026 Venue: Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX Cost: £148.00 A one-day course about the wonderful art of S...

One Day Screenwriting Course Date: Saturday 14th November, 2026 Venue: Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX Cost: £148.00 A one-day course about the wonderful art of S...

Script Reading & Development Q&A Session via Zoom. Cost: £95.00  A semi-regular 2½ hour session, on Zoom, which I organise on demand. If you’re interested, would like to register your interest or have...

One Day Screenwriting Course Date: Saturday 14th November, 2026 Venue: Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX Cost: £148.00 A one-day course about the wonderful art of…

One Day Screenwriting Course Date: Saturday 14th November, 2026 Venue: Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX Cost: £148.00 A one-day course about the wonderful art of S...

Hi There, ONE DAY SCREENWRITING COURSE, LONDON, November 14th 2026 https://script-consultant.co.uk/one-day-screenwriting-course/ I’m delighted to announce that I will be running a ONE DAY SCREENWRTING...

My brush with a sporting superstar

Hi There, I had an intense couple of days early last week – on Monday the funeral of my old boss and the person who not only gave me my first break in the wonderful world of TV drama and script develo...

MY MOST COMMON SCRIPT NOTES Part 2 More of the notes on scripts that I seem to give most frequently. These are all direct quotes from script reports I have written in the last few months – TONE Establ...

Hi There, This fortnight my screenwriting newsletter consists of the Channel 4 press release about the 2026 Channel 4 screenwriting course that is being sent out today (Friday June 12th). This is an a...

MOST COMMON NOTES FROM SCRIPT FEEDBACK Through my script consultancy, over 18 years, I have now fed back on over 2300 different projects (screenplays, radio plays, stage plays, outlines, treatments, e...

Hi There, In praise of TV drama series – The Pitt & Blue Lights. In the last decade or more, traditional long-running precinct-based, procedural TV drama series have not been fashionable but, to my mi...

PLOT AND STORY Distinguishing between story and plot is tricky. ‘Plot’ is the events that enable and dramatize your story. The story is the show. This is what we’re watching for. The conjunction of ch...

Hi There, This fortnight, more reader feedback from the 2026 Channel 4 screenwriting course – huge thanks to the excellent JOSEPHINE FRANKEL for this generous and insightful contribution. Write What Y...

Hi There, LITHUANIA I have had a packed and very enjoyable / lucky March. Earlier in the month in Belfast for a three-day Screenskills script editing course, a new granddaughter born and then a week i...

Ireland Screenwriting Course Danú Media, in association with Greasán na Meán Skillnet and National Talent Academy TV and Film are delighted to partner with Philip Shelley and bring Greenlight Screenwr...

RANDOM STORY THOUGHTS I apologise for the random / scattergun nature of this week’s newsletter but time has been in short supply. I taught a 3 day Screenskills script editing course in Belfast last we...

Ireland Screenwriting Course Danú Media, in association with Greasán na Meán Skillnet and National Talent Academy TV and Film are delighted to partner with Philip Shelley and bring Greenlight Screenwr...

Creativity for Scriptwriters Venue: Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX Cost: £135.00  This course is designed for anyone interested in dramatic writing, whether in…

Creativity for Scriptwriters Venue: Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX Cost: £135.00  This course is designed for anyone interested in dramatic writing, whether in…

Ireland Screenwriting Course Danú Media, in association with Greasán na Meán Skillnet and National Talent Academy TV and Film are delighted to partner with Philip Shelley and bring Greenlight Screenwr...

ScreenSkills

Hi There, This fortnight I am hugely indebted to playwright and screenwriter ROBIN CANTWELL, who was on one of my recent two-day screenwriting courses and subsequently very kindly went to the trouble…

ScreenSkills

ScreenSkills

The TV industry is full of stories about projects which began as pilots and went on to be commissioned for one or more series. But how do you create an eye-catching pilot that stands out from the crow...

C4 SCREENWRITING COURSE – NOTES ON READING Hi There, After Karen Featherstone’s excellent feedback last fortnight, here are some of the notes I made while reading the scripts for the 2026 Channel 4…

One Day Introduction to Screenwriting Date: Saturday 14th February, 2026 Venue: Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX Cost: £135.00 A one-day introduction to, and celeb...

One Day Introduction to Screenwriting Date: Saturday 14th February, 2026 Venue: Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX Cost: £135.00 A one-day introduction to, and celeb...

Script Reading & Development Q&A Session via Zoom. Cost: £95.00  A semi-regular 2½ hour session, on Zoom, which I organise on demand. If you’re interested, would like to register your interest or have...

ONE DAY INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING – London Saturday February 14th 2026 Guest speakers – KATE LEYS (one of the UK’s foremost story editors with a glittering CV) and screenwriter NATHANIEL PRICE (cr...

Script Reading & Development Q&A Session via Zoom. Cost: £95.00  A semi-regular 2½ hour session, on Zoom, which I organise on demand. If you’re interested, would like to register your interest or have...

SENTIMENTALITY 1 CRITICS 0 Happy New Year! I’m going to nail my colours to the mast here. I am a sentimentalist and I say that with pride! There are two interpretations of sentimentality, one positive...