It’s been an incredible journey so far and I urge people to apply to these schemes as I never thought I’d win and it really has allowed me the proper time and support to develop my career.
From the Alfred Bradley Bursary which was first awarded in 1992 through to the latest Kay Mellor Fellowship which was announced in January 2024, awards and bursaries have always been a key element in the work of BBC Writers in finding and developing new talent.
Earlier awards and bursaries included Trish Cooke as writer in residence at BBC North in 2002, the Northern Exposure comedy competition in 2002 (won by Karen Laws), the six Writers for Liverpool in 2002 (part of Northern Exposure), Tony Burgess as comedy writer in residence at BBC Manchester in 2004, Rommi Smith on the BBC's Africa season in 2005, placements for writers in Radio Drama and on the Asian Network soap Silver Street (including Aisha Khan in 2007) and the BAFTA and BBC Blast ScreenSkills bursaries in 2010. Caroline Horton was our first Birmingham Writer in Residence in 2016.
Find out more about BBC Writers' Awards and Bursaries
Alfred Bradley Bursary Award
A £5,000 writing bursary for Northern writers new to radio which kick-started the writing careers of the likes of Lee Hall and Peter Straughan. Find out about previous winners, plus advice on writing for Radio. *Please Note* from 2025 the Alfred Bradley Bursary Award is managed by BBC Culture, Music and Arts North in collaboration with BBC Radio 4.
Caroline Aherne Bursary
Designed to find, develop and support great new comedy talent, the bursary was named in honour of the late award-winning comedy writer and performer Caroline Aherne. BBC Comedy Commissioning, in partnership with BBC Writers and BBC North, launched the bursary scheme in 2017, calling applicants to submit filmed content of comedy characters. From 2023 the Caroline Aherne Bursary is part of the BBC Comedy Collective run by BBC Comedy Commissioning.
Element Pictures NI Writers Award
Element Pictures (Normal People, The Favourite) and BBC Writers Northern Ireland joined forces over Summer 2021 to find the next generation of television writers with bold and original stories to tell.
Felix Dexter Bursary
The Felix Dexter Bursary from BBC Comedy was launched in partnership with BBC Writers in 2018. It is designed to find writers with a fresh, unique point of view and the potential to help shape the future of comedy, whether in the BBC or elsewhere in the industry. It aims to make a positive intervention to address an under-representation of BAME professionals in comedy production in broadcasting. From 2023 the Felix Dexter Bursary is part of the BBC Comedy Collective run by BBC Comedy Commissioning.
