Red Planet Pictures and ITV on the hunt for new writing talent in 2020
Red Planet Prize searches for untapped talent to write drama for ITV
UK independent production company Red Planet Pictures and ITV, have launched the 2020 Red Planet Prize, a bi-annual competition that champions talent and diversity by calling on emerging writers to submit their drama scripts to a panel of experts; this year's award will focus on finding original voices to bring into the mainstream. The winner of The Red Planet Prize will receive a script commission and the runner up will get development opportunities with ITV.
The two giants of popular drama will once again join forces to champion untapped talent and find under-represented voices with bold new serial and series ideas. This year the judges will focus on unmissable four-part contemporary thrillers (this could be psychological, conspiracy, relationship, crime or political) and returning procedural series (crime, medical and legal). To be considered, writers will be required to submit:
An existing original spec script, full length and for any medium TV, film, radio and theatre
A one to two-page pitch for an original TV serial or series idea for ITV
A short CV highlighting any writing credits (these are not essential to enter)
Screenwriters must be based in the UK and Eire. The idea should not be in development with another broadcaster or independent company.
Submissions will open online on March 27th with the closing deadline of April 3rd 2020. The shortlist masterclass will take place in May 2020 and the winner will be announced in July 2020.
Up to ten shortlisted writers will be invited to a one-day pitching masterclass with Tony Jordan, award-winning writer and CEO of Red Planet Pictures and ITV Drama Execs. They will then have three weeks to write up their pitch and series outline. Joining as ITV's Drama commissioner in 2019, this will be Chloe Tucker's first Red Planet Prize and she will be judging the shortlist alongside Kate Rowland (Creative Consultant), Belinda Campbell (Joint Managing Director of Red Planet Pictures) and writer and actor, Rhashan Stone (Keeping Faith, Apple Tree Yard).
Chloe Tucker, ITV Drama Commissioner, said of the competition; ITV is the home of mainstream drama. Our shows need to be noisy, unmissable and appeal to a wide audience, which means reflecting and celebrating the diverse makeup of the UK today. We are looking for brilliant storytellers and particularly encourage writers from underrepresented communities. ITV is for everyone, across background, race, disability, sexuality, gender identity and expression.
Kate Rowland, Creative Consultant added; Writers are the lifeblood of the television industry and we are looking for new talent with bold ideas who can create unforgettable contemporary drama with characters that make you want to tune in week after week. We're always blown away by the writers that we unearth, and we can't wait to see what this year brings.
ITV has always played a vital part in the landscape of British drama and shows such as Cracker, Scott & Bailey, to the more recent Cheat, White House Farm, The Bay and Butterfly have had an impact on audiences, whilst also promoting emerging talent in the key 9.00pm slot.
Red Planet Pictures is the home of popular drama, from Sanditon and Dickensian, to the much-loved Death in Paradise, a previous Prize finalist now in its ninth series.
[end]
Note to editors:
About Red Planet Prize
Launched in 2007, the Red Planet Prize offers the winner a script commission. Previous winners include Robert Thorogood who created the BBC One smash hit series Death in Paradise and 2016 winner Tom Nash who is also now a regular writer for the series. 2018's winner, Devlin Doyle currently has an exciting project, Devoted, in development with Red Planet Pictures and is lead writer for Dontrod Entertainment on a video-game project. Sharma Wallfall, runner up, is in development with Red Planet Pictures and just taken part in a writer's room with RED Production Company for a new drama series.
About Red Planet Pictures
Red Planet Pictures has produced some of the UK's most popular drama content of recent years, including nine series of the BBC One ratings hit Death in Paradise, with episode one of the series eight pulling in a consolidated audience of 8million, and a slot winning share of 33%.
The dynamic indie has also produced the ambitious and critically acclaimed 20-part drama Dickensian, for the BBC, big budget adventure drama series Hooten & The Lady for Sky One, the critically acclaimed WWI drama The Passing Bells and the retelling of Noah's Ark, The Ark, both for BBC One.
The 8x60' drama adaptation of Jane Austen's unfinished final novel, Sanditon, was developed by Emmy and BAFTA-Award winning writer Andrew Davies for ITV and is now airing on Masterpiece (currently the highest rated new UK drama of the last 12 months, doubling the PBS primetime average). Series nine of Death in Paradise is currently airing on BBC One and series ten will go into production in Spring 2020.
Red Planet Pictures was founded by award-winning writer Tony Jordan in 2005.
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
January 8, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), a leader in high-performance, on-s...
07/05/2026
February 9, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning pioneer i...
07/05/2026
March 20, 2024
NAB 2024, Las Vegas - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-awa...
07/05/2026
April 1, 2025
CINEMACON, APRIL 1, 2025 - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming syste...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), an Academy and Emmy Award-winning de...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront participated in the ICTA Barcelona Cinema Technology Summit on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Held at The Phenomena Experience, the event feat...
07/05/2026
July 1, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming systems for motion pictures, OTT,...
07/05/2026
July 1, 2025
Passion and dedication will take you places. Come with us on a short trip to the heart of India, where Annapurna Studios is living-up to the inspi...
07/05/2026
July 3, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming systems for motion pictures, OTT,...
07/05/2026
September 1, 2025
IBC 2025, Amsterdam - Colorfront (colorfront.com) - the Acade...
07/05/2026
April 17, 2026
LOS ANGELES - April 17, 2026 - Colorfront today announced Colorf...
07/05/2026
April 23, 2026
NAB 2026, Las Vegas - the Academy and Emmy Award-winning develop...
07/05/2026
Thursday 7 May 2026
Sky continues Sphere Abacus partnership with The Death of S...
07/05/2026
Thursday 7 May 2026
Sky Confirms Saturday Night Live UK will return this September for Series Two
Saturday Night Live UK will return for a second series, as S...
07/05/2026
Save 20% on the Sky Glass Gen 2 and Sky Glass Air TVsThursday 7 May 2026
How to watch the World Cup on Sky Glass
Tune into the World Cup on the BBC and ITV vi...
07/05/2026
Production sound mixer Dirk Sciarrotta has mixed Family Feud for 28 seasons. Thats up to 200 syndicated episodes per year, plus primetime celebrity specials - a...
07/05/2026
As audience expectations have evolved, Owen has stopped trying to hide microphones or excuse amplification. Instead, he treats sound as a fully immersive part o...
07/05/2026
Well known Irish faces pushed to the edge in new series of
Uncharted with Ray G...
07/05/2026
RT will premiere A Traveller Family, a compelling new documentary exploring the...
06/05/2026
New pricing tiers for vocal/dialogue restoration tool
NoiseWorks Audio's AI-powered vocal and dialogue processing plug-in is now available in three diff...
06/05/2026
Popular mixing & routing software overhauled
Following a recent public beta test, RME have launched the final release version of the powerful mixing and rou...
06/05/2026
New SOS Video Feature
Focusrites ISA C8X is a milestone product that brings together the companys analogue heritage and their expertise in digital audio. Yo...
06/05/2026
06 May 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Authorized to Resell Starlink for Businesses & ...
06/05/2026
UKTV has secured the exclusive rights to the early back catalogue of iconic Australian drama series Neighbours, following a landmark content deal with Fremantle...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky commissions feature documentary to mark 10th anniversa...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky and Formula 1 agree long-term partnership across UK, Ireland and Italy
Sky in the UK & Ireland to remain the home of Formula 1 until ...
06/05/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign launches nationwide, supported by new...
06/05/2026
Wuppertal May 6, 2026
Riedel Expands Leadership Structure, Appoints Marc Engro...
06/05/2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 6, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced its latest broadband innovations for ANGA COM 2026, highlighting its vision for a new e...
06/05/2026
Statement from Rupert Murdoch, Chairman Emeritus, Fox Corporation on Ted Turner&...
06/05/2026
Friday 8 May on RT One and RT Player
Meet the NSPCA team caring for and protecting animals in need in this six-part series
Fly on the wall, six-part series...
Red Planet Pictures and ITV on the hunt for new writing talent in 2020
