Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

UKTV WriterSlam finalists announced

08/12/2021

Dead Canny, Holier Than Thou, Perfect (W/T) and The Other Half for UKTV

Tuesday 7 December 2021 Following the initiative announcement earlier this year, UKTV and TriForce Creative Network today announce the four finalists of the UKTV WriterSlam competition for UKTVs award-winning entertainment channel Dave. As part of UKTVs commitment to shining a spotlight on diverse and emerging talent, the four single episodes (4x30) include Dead Canny written by Anna Costello, Holier Than Thou written by Misha Adesanya, Perfect (W/T) written by Laurence Clark, and The Other Half written by Kate Reid and Zak Ghazi-Torbati.

Sarah Asante, commissioning editor, comedy said:

I was delighted to join the UKTV scripted comedy team just as they had launched a search for emerging diverse writers. The added commitment from the Dave team by offering the initiative a transmission target set the bar really high for our search. We have proudly developed shows that organically span the nations and regions, showcasing the breadth of storytelling from across the UK. This initiative has demystified the script to screen process in a unique way and has nurtured enormous growth in confidence and vision from the writers, which has been a pleasure to witness. Its been heartening for us at UKTV to see what can happen when we invite new writers to share their dreams and talents with us and the wider industry. I also want to thank our impressive production partners for taking this leap and going on this journey with us.

Each writer will be partnered with a production company to create the single episode for UKTV and filming will start in the new year, with casting underway for diverse and underrepresented talent.

Dead Canny (Anna Costello) will be produced by TriForce Productions with Fraser Ayres as executive producer and Jon Macqueen as producer. It follows a questionable young psychic from Consett, Co. Durham, whose ability to see dead people not only earns her a few quid cash-in-hand down the local pub, but also lands her as the prime suspect in a murder investigation.

Holier Than Thou (Misha Adesanya) will be produced by Big Deal and executive produced by Thomas Stogdon (Dreaming Whilst Black). Set in contemporary Manchester, it follows the journey of three young adults as they navigate sex, faith, and relationships, while attending the conservative, African Evangelical church they were raised in.

Perfect (W/T) (Laurence Clark) will be produced by Happy Tramp North and executive produced by Neil Webster. Set in Liverpool, three young disabled people become unexpected friends when they meet on a half-cocked and pointless work preparation scheme. Together they navigate life, dating, and a system that seems designed to only benefit the people who run it.

The Other Half (Kate Reid and Zak Ghazi-Torbati) will be produced by Ranga Bee Productions with Romesh Ranganathan, Benjamin Green and Michelle Farr-Scott as executive producers. It follows 20-something Navid who is half-Welsh, half-Iranian and 100% that bitch, who gets the chance to escape his small Welsh town when he lands an internship in the big city: Bristol. But as he runs headlong into his new life, shacking up with his best friend and her painfully privileged family, hes also running away from his old life in the closet, living with his overprotective father. And the more he tries to keep the two halves of his life apart, the more they keep crashing into each other.

The series of episodes have been written as part of the UKTV WriterSlam, with TriForce Creative Network and Dandi.org.uk. The scripts are commissioned by Sarah Asante, UKTV commissioning editor, comedy and ordered by Dave channel director, Cherie Cunningham and Pete Thornton, UKTVs head of scripted. Richard Watsham is the UKTVs director of commissioning and Steve North is genre general manager, comedy and entertainment.

_

For more information please contact:

Gem Pinkney, Head of Consumer Comms

Notes to Editors:

In winter 2020, BBC Studios increased its commitment to discovering, developing and supporting diverse talent in its production teams by launching the BBC Studios Production Inclusion Rider ,which introduced targets for new commissions requiring a minimum 20% of on-screen talent to be from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic background, have a lived experience of a disability, identify as LGBTQ+ or be from a low-income background. It also launched its Assistant Producer Accelerator Programme offering fourteen one-year contracts to researchers wanting to become Assistant Producers by providing them with the knowledge, skills and experience they need to develop, encouraging applications from underrepresented groups including those with a disability, those from ethnic minorities, lower income groups and the LGBTQ+ community.

About UKTV

UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 25 years, entertaining the nation with programmes they love. Its leading brands - Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday - span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and drama, and are delivered to audiences through UKTV Play, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat and Amazon Fire. The broadcaster is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers.

UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UKs most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the worlds leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.
LINK: https://corporate.uktv.co.uk/news/article/uktv-writerslam-finalists-an...
See more stories from uktv

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

28/09/2026

NHL Names Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner

The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...

28/09/2026

MultiDyne to Showcase Expanded Portfolio Including MRMC Robotics at CABSAT 2026

MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...

28/09/2026

ARRI and HONOR Launch Co-Branded HONOR Magic9 Pro Max

ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...

28/09/2026

Net Insight Adds Nimbra 1020G to Pan-Asian Live Media Trial Network

Net Insight has added the Nimbra 1020G to its pan-Asian live media trial network, giving customers and partners in the region a way to evaluate ST 2110 and JPEG...

28/09/2026

Vindral Named Recipient of 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award

Vindral has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the category of We...

28/09/2026

Interra Systems to Demonstrate QC and Monitoring Portfolio at CABSAT 2026

Interra Systems will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (Stand B2-37, Dubai Exhibition Centre, October 5-7), demonstrating its BATON QC platform, ORION monitoring solutions...

28/09/2026

PGA TOUR's Michael Raimondo on Agentic Production, ShotLink Automation, and the Evolution of PGA TOUR Studios

Two years into its new production facility, the TOUR is expanding centralized wo...

28/09/2026

Game Creek Videos Epic Building Run Continues With ESPNs Countdown Unit, Upgrades to Four Others

In addition to rolling out a new mobile unit for ESPN's Monday Night Countd...

28/09/2026

Bleacher Report and WWE Reach Multi-Year Global Content Partnership

Bleacher Report and WWE have announced a multi-year content partnership giving Bleacher Report global highlight rights across WWE's programming slate, inclu...

28/09/2026

Behind The Mic: NBC Sports Shares MLB Wild Card Series Announcing Booth; ESPN Reveals NHL 26-27 Season Talent

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

28/09/2026

Fubo Adds Four NHL Regional Sports Networks for 2026-27 Season

FuboTV has announced a multi-year distribution agreement with the NHL to carry four regional sports networks covering the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jac...

28/09/2026

Program Productions Names Alan Ostfield President and CEO

Program Productions (PPI) has announced the appointment of Alan Ostfield as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 28, 2026. Ostfield succee...

28/09/2026

Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty! Encourages Us to Keep Dancing

Director Josef Kubota Wladyka attends the premiere of Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! with the film's cast and crew at Eccles Theatre on January 22, 2026, in P...

28/09/2026

Scaler Music introduce Scaler EQ Pro

EQ plug-in can now be played via MIDI Scaler Music have recently released a new and improved version of their patented musical EQ plug-in, kitting it out wi...

28/09/2026

The Asura from Animal Factory Amps

New synth developed in collaboration with philterSoup Boutique effects pedal and Eurorack manufacturer Animal Factory Amps have announced that the new compa...

28/09/2026

Rohde & Schwarz adds an integrated multi-channel pulse analysis option to its FSWX signal and spectrum analyzer

Rohde & Schwarz adds an integrated multi-channel pulse analysis option to its FS...

28/09/2026

SBE Announces 2026 Ennes Scholarship Recipients

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/09/2026

Spectrum to Demo AI Computing at the Network's Edge at SCTE TechExpo 26

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/09/2026

Autoscript launches new Voice Controller prompting soluti...

Autoscript, the leading global provider of professional teleprompting solutions, today announced Voice Controller for WinPlus-IP, a new voice-controlled prompti...

28/09/2026

IBC 2026 Technical Conference Highlights

IBC 2026 Technical Conference Highlights David Kirk September 28, 2026 0 Comments Hero image courtesy Deposit Photos David Kirk reports from the 11-1...

28/09/2026

First Baptist Nashville Taps Clear-Com for Production Coms

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/09/2026

IEEE Announces Award for Leadership in Developing HEVC/H.265

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/09/2026

Nakadi Introduces Live to Theater Service Powered by Pate...

Nakadi, a global streaming technology innovator dedicated to engineering a new era of digital media delivery, today announced its Live to Theater service based ...

28/09/2026

Sky launches Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps for millions of homes

Monday 28 September 2026 Sky launches Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps for millions of homes Sky has launched a new Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps product, rolling out from today, gi...

28/09/2026

Arvato Systems Highlights Its Role for Automakers and Suppliers

Arvato Systems Highlights It's Role for Automotive Manufacturers and Suppliers TISAX Arvato Systems has successfully completed the TISAX Level 3 assess...

28/09/2026

Crimecall returns for a brand-new series

Crimecall, presented by Carla O'Brien, returns tonight for a brand new series at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player. In tonight's episode, alongside appe...

28/09/2026

RT SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2026 - SHORTLISTED STORIES ANNOUNCED

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS AT THE HEART OF NEW IRISH WRITING LIVE FROM POETRY IRELAND, DUBLIN AND ON RT RADIO 1 FROM 7PM DETAILS: www.rte.ie/writing | FOLLOW: #r...

27/09/2026

Boss launch the EX-4 Effects Expander

New compact pedal packs in 120 effects The latest multi-effects pedal from Boss is a compact unit that promises to give any pedalboard a massive boost in s...

26/09/2026

ESPN Operations, Production Teams Plan for Every Scenario as WNBA Playoffs Tip Off

With short turnaround between game selections, ESPN's operations team is pla...

26/09/2026

Prime Video Scales Up for First WNBA Postseason, Adding Cameras, Analysts, Coach Mics, and NBA Mobile Units

Prime Video will use GCV's Bird and Magic mobile units for its inaugural WNB...

26/09/2026

NBC Sports Tips Off First WNBA Postseason in 20+ Years Using Sunday Night Basketball as a Production Baseline

Studio show moves on-site as network models playoff coverage on its NBA flagship...

26/09/2026

Ratings Roundup: Cowboys-Commanders Leads NFL Week 2 With 27.2 Million, College GameDay Posts Best Week 3 Ever

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...

26/09/2026

From Sketch to Strut, Unzipped Returns to the Sundance Film Festival at 30

Douglas Keeve attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival screening of Unzipped at the Egyptian Theatre. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock for Sundance Film...

26/09/2026

Native Instruments update Maschine

Launched alongside three new expansion packs In celebration of their 30th anniversary, Native Instruments have released a major update for their Maschine 3 ...

26/09/2026

YouTube Embraces Microdramas with Features for Episodic Shorts

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/09/2026

Civil Rights Groups Urge Sen. Cruz to Delay Thumann Severs FCC Confirmation

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/09/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 32: National Hockey Leagues John Bochiaro - Leading the Leagues In-Venue Efforts

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

25/09/2026

HBS Taps Ronald den Hollander as CEO

Infront has named Ronald den Hollander as CEO of its Host Broadcast Services (HBS) subsidiary, effective 1 October 2026. The appointment follows the previously ...

25/09/2026

NABA to Host Cyber University 2.0 Cybersecurity Summit in New York

The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) will hold Cyber University 2.0, a full-day cybersecurity summit for the broadcast and media industries, on Tu...

25/09/2026

Alpha Networks and Ateme Deliver Low-Latency Video Platform for International Sporting Event

Alpha Networks and Ateme have delivered a joint video platform for the digital d...

25/09/2026

Viaplay Migrates Free-to-Air Channels to Encompass Altitude Scheduling

Encompass Digital Media has announced the migration of multiple Viaplay free-to-air channels - TV3, TV6, TV8, and TV10 - to its Altitude Scheduling platform. Al...

25/09/2026

NAB Show New York 2026 Set for October 21-22 at Javits Center

NAB Show New York 2026 will take place October 21-22 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Registration is open at nabshow.com/newyork. Th...

25/09/2026

NHL Network to Air NHL Tonight, NHL Now, NHL Tonight: First Shift, and On The Fly During 2026-27 Season

NHL Network has announced its studio programming lineup for the 2026-27 regular ...

25/09/2026

First Baptist Nashville Installs Clear-Com Arcadia Central Station

Clear-Com has announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom system as part of a sanctuary technolo...

25/09/2026

Broadcast Management Group Upgrades to EVS XT-VIA Platform at Cloud Control Center

Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has deployed EVS XT-VIA live video production s...

25/09/2026

BBright Adds dotCentral as U.S. Sales and Support Partner

BBright, a Hexaglobe Group company, has announced that dotCentral has joined as a sales and support partner in the United States. BBright's portfolio cover...

25/09/2026

MeyerPro Deploys ROE Visual Graphite GP 2.6 for Acumatica Summit 2026

MeyerPro delivered audio, video, broadcast, and LED production for the Acumatica Summit 2026 at the Seattle Convention Center's Summit Building, January 25-...