WFTV has revealed the 2023 cohort of the WFTV Kay Mellor Screenwriters’ Lab that began on 2 October.  
 

The scheme, which will become an annual programme to honour the late Kay Mellor’s screenwriting legacy, will support emerging female writing talent in film and TV, who are actively working on original scripts and looking to achieve their first film or TV screenwriting credit. 

The lab provides an opportunity for writers to work intensely on one script which is at final draft stage and develop it over the course of the lab to be pitch-ready. Held in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, the programme comprises writing masterclasses and workshops led by course tutors Lisa Holdsworth (Ackley Bridge, Call the Midwife, Waterloo Road) and Olivia Hetreed (Girl with a Pearl Earring, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Wuthering Heights). 

In addition, evening sessions include a conversation with Happy Valley creator and writer Sally Wainwright OBE, and Life in Pictures – a retrospective look at Kay Mellor’s work with Yvonne Francas-Mellor and Gaynor Mellor, managing director and creative director at Rollem Productions.

Yvonne Francas-Mellor and Gaynor Mellor said: “We are thrilled that the inaugural WFTV Kay Mellor Screenwriters’ Lab is underway, and grateful to the team at WFTV and Miss Scarlet Limited for making it happen. To continue Kay’s legacy in this way is a perfectly fitting tribute, and we hope it provides a step-up into the industry for these 13 wonderful women.” 

The 13 winners of the 2023 cohort, pictured above, are: 

• Beth Bennett

• Catherine Newell

• Chloe Hudson

• Christine McVie

• Isabelle Blanche

• Mariem Omari

• Pasha Tong

• Preethi Manuel

• Rebecca Osias

• Rekha Keshvara

• Rhianne Deans

• Sarah Louise Madden

• Shay Elliot