ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

I remember knocking the ‘Rescue Remedy’ back in a bid to calm my nerves as I waited for Jessica Loveland, Head of New Writing at the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, and Usman Mullan, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Writers Development Producer, to start the interview. Having been lucky enough to have been on a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Writers’ Voices scheme previously and experienced first hand the impact it had on me as a writer, I knew how big this opportunity was.

While I’ve written for as long as I can remember, I was never able to consider writing as a career. I had my son in my early twenties and so the need for financial stability outweighed my desire to write. Instead, I enjoyed careers in social work and secondary teaching. When I got sick years later though, and was unable to work for a while, I fell back in love with television drama. Housebound, I consumed thousands of hours of television drama and, struggling emotionally with a life changing diagnosis, I found myself picking up a pen and writing again. Fast forward some years later and I find myself here: biting my nails down to the skin as I press the ‘join meeting’ button.

I needn’t have stressed about the interview; Jess and Usman were so kind and put me instantly at ease. They introduced me to the opportunity, explaining that the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Writers Access Group (or WAGs) was a scheme set up in recognition of the barriers disabled writers face in the industry. They asked me to talk about a couple of ideas I had for TV, the sort of shows I enjoy watching, and how I felt the scheme would help me achieve my career goals.

Around a month later I received the news that I had been offered a place on the scheme. For a northern, working class, disabled woman in her early forties who was feeling every inch of the barriers she faced in the industry, this news meant the world. I was so ready to jump in with both feet and make the most of this incredible opportunity.

In the November, we were all invited to meet in person at the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ in Salford. We enjoyed two days of inspiring sessions, insightful discussions and getting to know each other. We were the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™s third WAGs cohort and there were ten of us in total, all with different access needs. Though we had various levels of industry experience, we all understood what it was like to face certain barriers in the industry and so meeting the rest of the group was both validating and inspiring. At the end of the two days, I left feeling like I had learned a lot, made new friendships, and I was genuinely excited about what the next 18 months on the scheme held for us all.

The schedule was jam packed with twice weekly sessions tackling everything from structure to pitches to character psychology, led by incredible industry professionals. Stand out sessions for me included one on creating compelling characters by none other than Jimmy McGovern himself (I tried not to fangirl too hard, I don’t think he noticed….), one by the insightful (and wonderful) Gillian Clarke (Head of Development for ) on the key ingredients of a good idea and pitch, one on Comedy Drama with (Comedy writing coach and director) which helped me to discover some funny bones I didn’t know existed, and one on writing animation with the very entertaining (writer, producer, and story editor of live action and animated drama). As if that wasn’t enough, we were also offered opportunities to apply for shadow writing schemes on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ shows like Casualty and The Dumping Ground and invited to submit short film scripts for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Three’s Long Story Short.

Now equipped with new skills, knowledge, and understanding, we were ready to generate ideas for a new spec script. I was torn between two ideas, one that felt safely inside my comfort zone and one that was most definitely not. We were placed in small groups to discuss our ideas and my two fellow members of WAGs (and now good friends), Ben and Kat, encouraged me to choose the idea that scared me. They made a good point, if I was ever going to try writing an idea outside of my comfort zone, it might as well be now, when I have so much professional support to lean on. The big girl pants came out of the wardrobe, and I decided to go for it.

We were all paired with a professional Script Editor who we would work with as we developed our idea and wrote our script. Having never shared the early writing process with anyone before, I was unsure what to expect but working with a Script Editor turned out to be the biggest gift. I was paired with who, in addition to being one of the kindest and most supportive souls I’ve ever met, has worked on shows like and . She instantly made me feel safe to share early drafts, ask questions, experiment, and learn. Having someone like Donna give me notes and feedback in real time as I shaped the story was so valuable. The idea no longer felt scary, it felt exciting. What we ended up creating was a script that I’m proud of, and I’m so incredibly grateful for the support of Donna, Esther Jackson-Burton (ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Writers Development Producer), and Jess in getting me there.

Our spec scripts were shared with independent production companies and agents, and we had a wonderful couple of days ‘speed meeting’ producers online. While I was still nervous, I definitely went into the meetings with a renewed sense of confidence. The producers were all so kind, and they gave me some incredible feedback on my script and some really valuable advice about where to go from here. I have a number of general meetings in the diary for the coming weeks and months as a direct result of those speed-meets so I’m excited for those (Alexa, remind me to re-order Rescue Remedy).

The Writers’ Access Group was nothing short of life changing for me. I know, with absolute certainty, that the skills I learnt during it, the contacts I made as a result of it, and the script I wrote during it, will help me to navigate the industry as I figure out where to go next. As someone who submitted religiously to the Open Call for many years hoping to be considered for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Writers’ opportunities, I know how privileged I was to gain a place on WAGs. I will forever be grateful for the dedicated support of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Writers team, all the encouragement, patience, and support from Donna, the cheerleading and friendship from my fellow WAGs writers, and the skills and knowledge I am now able to take with me as I continue my journey as a writer.

The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Writers' Access group will return! We'll announce plans for WAGs 4 in the new year.