An initiative to find talented writers from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds is being launched by ITV through Emmerdale.
Original Voices is intended to find local writing talent, with successful candidates offered training in ITV Continuing Drama.
“I’ve seen the impact our Original Voice scheme has previously had at both Emmerdale and Coronation Street. The talent involved have helped make both programmes’ story offices and writing teams more reflective of the world our drama lives in and so more exciting and more relevant to our audience,” said John Whiston, ITV’s managing director of continuing drama.
“So I’m pleased that, with the help of Creative Skillset, we are able to extend the initiative once again”.
Four successful applicants will spend 6 weeks in the Emmerdale story department, to develop skills at creating stories, weaving multiple story strands and writing credible long-running story arcs.
At the end of the session, they will write a trial script for feedback from the show’s producers.
Those interested should send in a sample script to originalvoices@itv.com, with a short script synopsis and a biography/CV with evidence of their connection to the North.
Scripts should be between 30-90 minutes, in a standard format and received by midnight on 1st December 2017.
