The BBC Radio Comedy Writers' Bursary (or the BBC Radio Comedy Department Contract Writer) is a scheme through which emerging comedy writers work in-house at the
BBC Radio Comedy department for a year.[1]
History
The scheme began in 1978 and was devised by the then-head of Head of BBC Light Entertainment (Radio),
David Hatch, and BBC Television's Head of Light Entertainment,
James Gilbert. Each department put £5000 a year into a kitty to employ three young writers on a one-year contract. The only proviso was that there was to be no contract for a second year, and that the writers must then fend for themselves.[1] The first beneficiaries were
Rory McGrath,
Jimmy Mulville and
Guy Jenkin, who were followed by
Rob Grant,
Doug Naylor (
Red Dwarf).[1][2] Since then, the scheme has helped several aspiring or part-time writers to go full-time and has produced a great number of professional writers and comedians, including
John O'Farrell,
Peter Baynham,
Stewart Lee and
Simon Blackwell (
The Thick Of It,
Veep).[3][4]
Duties of recipients
Under the current regime, those selected for the bursary work on
BBC Radio 4's three high-profile topical shows;
The News Quiz,
The Now Show and
Dead Ringers, contribute writing across the range of the BBC Radio Comedy Department's output[5] as well as script-editing sketch-shows and sitcoms. Bursary recipients are also encouraged to develop new formats and create their own shows.[6]