At the first ever Writers Access Group workshop, Anne Edyvean (the former Head of 主播大秀 Writersroom) told us that we would get work at the end. She was right. My second TV credit, and first episode of EastEnders airs on 16th June.

EastEnders was part of my life growing up in Brent, and later East London. Soap operas were the first shows on TV to be subtitled, which meant my Deaf mum could watch with us. When there was a good doof doof ending, my mum (a TV actor/producer herself) would lead a round of applause long after the credits.

Until I joined 主播大秀 Writersroom, I mostly made my own work as a writer and performer, which helped me develop my voice and confidence. I wrote for radio and theatre and I got my agent (for acting and writing) after starring in on Channel 4 (produced by Eleven Films).

Thanks to the efforts of Amira EI Nemr and Marigold Joy in setting up the 主播大秀 Writersroom Writers' Access Group in 2019, my name was on the industry radar. In 2020, I had a Zoom panel interview with the executive producer of EastEnders and three producers. They asked me to train as a writer on the show – to write a shadow script, following the same process of a real episode. The trial was supported by the show’s brilliant development producer, . He worked with me to practice the leap from the story document into making the scenes my own, writing in the voices of the show, the subtext and actions and hitting the turning points.

When the trial ended, the producers offered me a commission to write an episode for real. I was so excited to be writing for EastEnders!

The job started with a commissioning meeting for the block, where the writers ask questions about their episodes. The executives, script editors, schedulers and researchers and writers are at this meeting, and the Story document for the block goes out a few days before.

With my first episode, there were lockdown Covid restrictions in place, and so I wrote a scene breakdown for the scheduling team to check. Actors were in silos, meaning the different groups could not cross in scenes.

As a new writer on the show, I was well supported by the development producer Kieran, and script editor for that episode, . Different producers and editors read different drafts. The executive producers read the second draft along with the other episodes in the block. They have a one-day meeting about the week of episodes. That’s when there can be some big changes, based on how the stories are working across the whole block. There might also be changes for continuity with the other episodes in the block through the early drafts.

The length of notes usually gets less over the course of the five drafts. On my first episode I also had a fabulous EastEnders core writer mentor, , who told me that we all get certain types of notes in the beginning. It helped to know that everyone goes through it as we learn the show. By the last two drafts there are just small tweaks and the turnaround is shorter.

The writing schedule is intense and fast. There are a few days off whilst waiting for notes for the first and second draft. In order to deliver, I learnt not to fill the days off with meetings for other work, and actually take some time off. Time management is important – sticking to writing a certain number of scenes per day. Ideally I want a day or so to read and tweak before the 9am deadline.

After getting notes on a draft it’s good to read them, put them away for a bit, have a think, note down any questions for the editor, make a plan and then get on with it. There isn’t time for anything else. I was grateful for the astute clarity and directness of the notes on EastEnders, as well as the trust and collaborative process.

I loved being part of the huge gang that creates EastEnders. I also liked digging deep into my memory bank for different types of colloquial, London speech. Working on the show has stretched me and used my strengths as a writer in a way I’ve always dreamed of.

I also use my Deaf experience – of all the different Deaf identities that I’ve had over the years, as well as being from a Deaf family, speaking and signing, and now as a self-described deaf cyborg.

Tips for writing for continuing drama. Go for it – you can do it (by learning how to do it). Trust in the process. Do something nice whilst you’re waitingnotwaiting for notes.

Watch Sophie's episode of EastEnders on Wednesday 16th June at 8.35pm on 主播大秀 One or on 主播大秀 iPlayer

The 主播大秀 Writersroom Writers' Access Group

Casualty - Writing Jade's Story - find out more on this blog post from Sophie Woolley and Charlie Swinbourne

On Monday night, a special ‘silent’ episode of Eastenders was broadcast from the perspective of the character of Ben Mitchell. The episode was unlike any previous episode of the show - to reflect Ben’s deafness, it had limited audio, fractured sentences and incomplete subtitles.

Watching the episode was a proud moment for me because it was part of a storyline I pitched to the show’s writing team last summer. And it was the latest step in a journey that began when I joined the 主播大秀 Writersroom’s Writers Access Group.

How it began

Two years ago, I went to a scriptwriting workshop featuring the 主播大秀 Writersroom which was run by the in Manchester. It was there that I found out about a new 主播大秀 writing scheme for writers with a disability.

Meeting once a month for nine months, there’d be masterclasses in all elements of scriptwriting for TV, from producers and writers from inside and outside of the 主播大秀. It sounded almost too good to be true.

After applying with samples of my previous scripts and talking about my previous work and approach to writing at an interview in London, I was really pleased to be offered a place.

The Writers' Access Group

One of the best things about being in the group was simply getting to know the other writers as each month went by.

Everyone had previous credits in TV or theatre, and everyone was talented and passionate about their writing. They also happened to be very nice people who were willing to share their chocolate rice cakes during coffee breaks! Some of the writers became good friends and after a while we set up a WhatsApp group so that we could chat and debate stuff with one another wherever we were.

We all had different access needs which were provided for by the 主播大秀 Writersroom. I’m partially deaf and hearing everything when in group situations is the thing I find hardest, so I had a speech-to-text palantypist at each session, meaning I could read what was being said and fill in any gaps.

Monthly Masterclasses

The monthly sessions with writers like John Yorke, Tim Prager and , plus producers from different parts of the 主播大秀, gave us a strong sense of the principles and realities of writing for TV and radio and what works for different types of programmes.

One practical tip has changed my daily writing routine. Frank Spotnitz gave us a tip of using a cork board to place story beats on, and emphasised the importance of spending serious time planning our stories. I’ve now got my own slightly worn out cork board which I spend a lot of hours staring at while rearranging pieces of card, which may not sound glamorous but has really transformed my approach to structuring my scripts. So a big thanks to Frank for that!

After initial sessions in London, we visited the set of Doctors in Birmingham to meet the show’s producers, then went up to Media City in Salford to visit C主播大秀 and CBeebies. We were assigned script editors and worked on new which would help us draw more interest for our work. In our final monthly session, we had a speed dating session with producers and agents where we were able to pitch both our ideas and ourselves as writers.

Getting involved with EastEnders

Each of us was assigned a mentor and I was linked up with , the Executive Producer of EastEnders. Jon gave me an insight into how the programme works, and invited me to visit a long-term story conference with all the writers.

To be in a room with 30 writers and producers talking about all the show’s legendary characters and what might happen to them in the next year was an amazing experience. The 主播大秀 Writersroom arranged for me to have a palantypist there so that I could follow what was said. Listening to (and reading) all the stories and discussion got me thinking.

The character of had been deaf in one ear since childhood, but his deafness hadn’t really been focused on for many years. I’d also long wanted to see a signing deaf character become part of the square.

So on the train home, I wrote a story where Ben loses more of his hearing, with Frankie, who is a deaf character, coming into his life to support him. The idea was that the two characters represented different ways of being deaf - while Ben struggles to accept his deafness, Frankie shows him how it’s possible to be positive about deaf identity. The story drew on my own experiences of growing up knowing different types of deaf people.

After I sent the story in, Jon replied positively, asking me to develop the story further, and then after a few more drafts, he invited me to the next story conference to pitch it to the writers.

Pitching my own story

Pitching my story to the EastEnders writing team at the end of a very long, hot day of the summer was probably the most nerve-wracking moment of my life. Would they want one of their main characters to change so much? Would I be able to explain the deaf world in a way everyone could understand?

After I’d outlined my story and the character of Frankie, along with the idea of an episode from Ben’s point of view, the writers asked me lots of questions about deafness and deaf culture and how it could be portrayed on screen. This time I had two sign language interpreters, again arranged with the support of the 主播大秀 Writersroom, which enabled me to understand everyone properly and (hopefully!) explain the deaf world as clearly as possible.

As I left the room everyone seemed really positive and I felt like the story had a chance.

Multitasking

In the meantime, having made contacts through the monthly masterclasses, I’d been sending my work to different producers I’d met, which led to meetings and workshops at Casualty in Cardiff, and C主播大秀 in Salford.

This led to a real breakthrough - two script commissions, to write an episode of a children’s series for C主播大秀, and co-write an episode of Casualty with another member of the Writers' Access Group, . Then I found out that EastEnders were running my story, and I was going to work as an adviser on the storyline. This is when things got really busy!

Over the next few months, if I wasn’t writing either of my scripts, I was reading EastEnders story documents and scripts relating to my story and feeding back on them. It was fascinating seeing which parts of my original story were kept and which parts were changed, as the story expanded to become part of episodes running over a number of months.

I was busier than I’d ever been in my life, working with different production teams, hitting multiple deadlines, and learning about my own strengths as well as areas I need to work on!

Reaching the screen

In late March, after EastEnders’ 35th anniversary episodes, the storyline of Ben becoming deaf finally hit the screen. It was surreal watching the story I’d pitched finally becoming part of a show I’d watched since I was a child.

A few weeks ago, Frankie (played by the brilliant deaf actor ) arrived on the square, then the silent episode (I worked with the writer Simon Ashdown as Story Consultant on the episode) aired on Monday night.

It’s been incredible to see the audience response. Frankie is a character a lot of deaf people feel they relate to. I think the biggest achievement of the silent episode was taking the wider audience into a deaf person’s perspective for half an hour, showing how altered Ben’s world is. I’ve seen comments from deaf people who said that the silent episode helped their families to understand how they hear the world for the first time. It’s amazing what can be sparked off by writing a story on a long train journey from London to Yorkshire!

The future

The Writers' Access Group has definitely transformed my career. I’ve learned from the masterclasses, gained experience, made vital contacts, and written for programmes I’d always dreamed of being part of.

What the group shows is that with the right access, writers with disabilities are able to show what they can do.

There’s still a long way to go, but it feels like the industry is starting to change in terms of its approach towards disabled writers. People are realising that we offer a different perspective, whether we are writing stories related to disability or not.

The group are still in touch nearly every day, supporting one another through the ups and downs of a writer’s life on our WhatsApp group! Writing is a solitary pursuit, so having people you can chat with and ask for advice from is really valuable.

You’ll be seeing more of our work appearing on your screens soon. I’m also looking forward to seeing what future intakes of the Writers' Access Group get up to! If you’re thinking of applying, I’d definitely recommend it.

Watch the EastEnders episode from Monday 1st June on 主播大秀 iPlayer

Charlie Swinbourne has written dramas, comedies and documentaries often focusing on deaf characters. He won an RTS Yorkshire Writer Award for his sketch show in 2018 and has also worked as a journalist. He is based near Leeds. The episode of Casualty which he co-wrote will be broadcast in July, and his C主播大秀 episode will be filmed later this year.

Social media is seen by some as the scourge of good television drama. The battle to avoid spoilers for fans of shows like Line of Duty, and Killing Eve has seen Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the rest take on the role of the archetypal antagonist that seeks to thwart your goal. Yet social platforms are also playing an increasingly prominent role in connecting audiences – especially younger ones - to the narratives and characters of drama. Not through hubristic marketing pushes or tacky memes, but with creative extensions that aim to immerse the audience even further in the story.

The Rise Of Television Social Media

When I first began working in the social media industry (in the dim and distant world of 2010), it was very much the domain of entertainment and reality shows. Setting up and running social feeds for the likes of The Apprentice and The Great British Bake Off involved plenty of dubious punnery and whipping up excitement in a jazz-handed manner. But soon patterns emerged as posting plans started to take on a fixed narrative structure that would play out during and beyond the episode.

Potential heroes and the challenges they faced were foregrounded, with the hopeful audience only uncrossing their fingers to launch supportive tweets. One main protagonist would tend to emerge, often needing to overcome their self-doubt to stand any chance of success in the final act. If the hero/heroine were successful, the joyous audience would be treated to a self-reflective speech that highlighted their character growth since the beginning of the series. Such words are social gold that would travel far and wide…

The Move to Drama

In contrast, until a few years ago, coverage of dramas on social media tended to be limited to marketing pushes driving people to broadcasts alongside reproducing key moments, such as a nice character quote. It was more a case of replication than doing anything consistently creative alongside broadcast of the fictional material. However, a turning point emerged with the first season of Sally Wainwright’s 主播大秀 One drama Happy Valley.

Running the reactive social media campaign during the broadcast, I sought to turn the Twitter feed into an emotion-led individual rather than a detached curator. A viewing companion for those who can’t resist ‘second screening’ on their phones or laptops while a show unfolds.

My aim was for the commentary to really root for our heroine, Sarah Lancashire’s beleaguered Sergeant Catherine Cawood, and react in a way designed to relate to the feelings of viewers sat on their sofas watching at home. Through studying each episode in advance of the broadcast, I identified the key character moments and turning points in the plot, and shaped these into posts.

The tone of voice was crucial and derived from the empathy and determination of Catherine Cawood. It needed to have a sense of urgency and convey the high stakes of the drama unfolding on screen, while also knowing when to release the grip in line with the feelings of the audience.

This approach proved successful, with social posts being shared widely on young-skewing platforms and attracting new audiences to the show.

Following this success, more time and investment was accorded to drama coverage, with talented design teams coming on board to work on priority productions, ensuring that social media posts looked suitably ‘premium’.

The social campaign for period drama Poldark’s first season built on this, connecting younger viewers to a genre that traditionally skewed towards an older audience by focussing on emotion in a way that didn’t feel stuffy or traditional (but also didn’t betray the narrative tone).

Being ‘social’ on social media and giving viewers a voice proved pivotal too, with key character choices put to those at home for their verdicts. This helped to draw people closer to the story and to take them inside the heads of the characters, which heightened reactions to later dramatic (and sometimes devastating) payoffs.

The launch of Doctor Foster in 2015 built on Happy Valley’s strategy of getting us all rooting for the scorned lead. As with many new dramas, it was slow-going at the beginning of the series in terms of engagement on social, as people were still getting to know the characters and forming their allegiances. I played the long game, as seeds were sown with posts such as this inciting incident in the first episode:

Unlike a conventional marketing push where the impetus is around the premiere and the season finale, the smart strategy for social is to build each week – leading into a finale where the payoffs arrive and the engagement goes through the roof.

For its stunning first season finale, Doctor Foster delivered 主播大秀 One’s most liked Facebook post of the year:

Social Exclusives & Narrative Extensions

The next evolution was to use a show’s social platforms for more than just promotion and reaction. This of course relies on the writer, production and cast being game.

主播大秀 One’s Our Girl is a great example of the value of social media in creating a devoted audience that’s highly emotionally invested. The fledgling show, about female medics in the British Army, was scheduled opposite the then ratings juggernaut X Factor for its first season in 2014. Gulp. While the ratings were steady, it emerged as the most tweeted about new drama of the year and cultivated a young, devoted (and mainly female) online fanbase from scratch.

The show was supported by ‘narrative extensions’ that played out on social after every episode, in the form of a series of letters. 

These letters were written home to loved ones by the soldiers. That concept stemmed from a brief scene in the opening episode where we can see a few of the soldiers scribbling away in their overseas army base. Wouldn’t it be interesting to read their intimate thoughts?

I was very privileged to work with Our Girl’s creator and writer Tony Grounds on assembling these letters each week, which expanded on key emotional beats and plot developments just witnessed. They brought the audience closer to the protagonists – and encouraged deeper emotional investment in the story.

Later seasons of Our Girl not only shifted the protagonist from Lacey Turner’s Molly Dawes to Michelle Keegan’s Georgie Lane, they also developed the social extensions. Gone were the old school letters and in were the mobile phones. These posts offered the now well-established fanbase something special, that they felt was ‘just for them’, alongside helping to engage with potential new fans.

Of course, this requires the drama’s writer to understand the value of social media extensions to the world they’ve created and be open to them, something which Our Girl creator Tony Grounds has embraced. As he explains: “Social media is here to stay and dramas need to embrace it. It will get bigger and bigger. Influencers are becoming more important than reviewers, who no one reads. The success of a show is as much about word of mouth (in which social media is key) and the actors using their fan base to get people to tune in.”

However, Tony Grounds also thinks writers need to develop a thick skin… “Someone once said to me social media was like diving into an amazing ocean... until your programme actually transmits then you realise you are clinging on to a sewage pipe and you have to cling on tight as the s**t and vitriol smash you to pieces. It’s part of the real world, albeit a very small part, and often the s**t is the stuff that sticks rather than anything pleasant, but I’m not sure the noisy ones reflect the nation. So part of me thinks no writer should go near it, but... it’s too tempting not to dive in.”

Social media extensions to drama also have the ability to push the limits of the world and develop it in a way that would never happen within the traditional television broadcast.

This year on EastEnders, I wrote that was incorporated into the filming schedule and featured stars Danny Dyer, Ricky Champ and Luisa Bradshaw-White all in character. It started off like a normal scene, but the boundaries of plausibility were soon pushed. The clip quickly racked up over one million views on Facebook and . All credit to the EastEnders production team for seeing the value of social and making this happen.

Finding Your Voice

Much like ensuring character voices remain distinctive in a script, finding the right tone of voice for a social campaign surrounding a drama can be pivotal to its success and also extend the world to a younger audience.

As an example, I worked on the Twitter feed for the first two seasons of Netflix’s The Crown. The intent was to embody the essence of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the personality of the social platform – to mimic her voice and even interact with the audience ‘in character’. Obviously, a twenty-something monarch from the 1950s hasn’t been swept up in a time storm and transported to the present day in order to tweet. No amount of persuasion could entice writer Peter Morgan into incorporating that as a subplot!

To achieve this, I had to comb through the scripts and episodes, noting down key phrases and recurring words spoken by the Queen – and also her rhythm and flow of speech. Not unlike a sportsperson training their muscle memory, a writer can imbed a character’s voice in their head with a lot of hard work.

And how does the show benefit from this? The payoffs involved plenty of fun and increased interaction, really helping to drive attribution and loyalty towards the show by giving it a clearly defined personality.

What Next?

With the social media juggernaut growing and being so embedded in the lives of young audiences, how long is it before continuing dramas and soaps seek to not just incorporate but start running the fictionalised social media lives of their characters? It’s hard to imagine a Phil Mitchell Instagram feed (presumably it would solely feature awkwardly framed, filter-free photos of fry-ups from Kathy’s café), but many of the characters in the soap world do have social feeds and are often seen scrolling away and taking snapshots to share.

A precedent has already been set by , a Norwegian series about a group of teenagers that played out solely using social media posts and mobile communications between the characters. It was snapped up by Facebook and remade in the United States last year as . Could it be a sign of things to come for an industry that needs to reach younger audiences?

When you’re a brand new writer, trying to get something, anything, off the ground seems pretty daunting. My biggest piece of advice is to try a bit of DIY – do it yourself. That idea you’ve got burning inside – can it be turned into a webseries that showcases your ability to write on-going episodes, develop characters and write to cliff-hangers - all essential skills for TV writers.

My route into writing television was via short films, a stage play and webseries. My first short was produced in 2012, and my play followed hot on its heels. In 2013 I wrote and directed (careful when Googling that!) and a publisher picked up the play. That was where things started to gently snowball. I say ‘gently’, because it really was a slow process, more like a snail’s pace than an avalanche. We released the webseries to decent reviews and moderate views. One year on, the awards and festival season kicked in. Suddenly we were being nominated for, and winning, and being selected for festivals worldwide. We released the series on multiple platforms and watched the views creep up (across all our platforms we’re currently hovering around the 3.5 million mark). I won the 2014 Indie Series Award for Best Drama Writing, and soon there was press interest too. Then a few job offers came in and I signed to an agent. That made me eligible for the … and here we are.

Doing your own work doesn’t need to cost a lot of money – get a group of filmmakers together that are all at the same stage as you and collaborate. Don’t know anyone? Get in touch with local schools, colleges and universities. Find local clubs. Trawl social media. Find your tribe. They’re out there. When we made I worked with a mixed group of students and newcomers to the industry and we shot over weekends. Now most of our crew are out there doing awesome work and getting paid well for it (and we still get together when we can to collaborate for fun). Everyone has to start somewhere and for many people that’s on low budget projects. Bring together a team you trust, who will give you honest feedback, keep you grounded and kick you up the backside when you need it.

But before all that, it’s up to you, as the writer, to bring the script – something collaborators can’t say no to. Write it, write it well and don’t rush it. Yes, you’ll eventually need to learn to turn work around quickly, but your first few projects are not the time to worry about that. Craft your work, and hone it carefully before even thinking about shooting. Find other writers in your peer group to give you notes and listen to what they tell you – you might not agree with the note, but it indicates something hasn’t connected somewhere. If you get the same note more than three times, you’ve got something that needs fixing. If you are lucky enough to get an experienced reader or writer to give you notes – listen carefully to what they say. They’ve been around the block enough times to know how to make your script better.

With this in mind, write to what you can achieve. If you have no kit, write something you can shoot on a phone camera. If you’ve only got your house to shoot in, set it in your living room. If the script and acting are good enough, it will be compelling regardless. If you want to be a professional screenwriter you will have to write within restrictions and budgets – now’s the time to start. If it fails, that’s fine too. You’ll learn more from your failures than you will your successes. You don’t have to release it if it doesn’t work. Use it as a learning experience and do better next time.

In reality, it’s hard for new writers to get their scripts read, but if you’ve got something tangible to show, especially if that something has festivals and awards attached, it becomes a lot easier to get attention. It’s a big ask for someone to plough through a full length script from a new writer – even the first ten page read is quickly becoming the first couple of pages. But if it’s a four minute web episode they can watch while eating their lunchtime sandwich, it’s a much more reasonable ask. And, of course, you’re going to make your first episode so compelling that they have to watch to the end – aren’t you? And then they’re going to be fired up and request your work.

And here’s the caveat to all this. You MUST have a portfolio of writing ready as a back up before you release your series. I made this mistake in the early days. A few shorts are not enough; you need some solid TV scripts that showcase your best work ready to fire off at a moment’s notice, and some brilliant ideas for pitches in your back pocket. When you’ve got all this together, you’re in a strong position to move forward.

I did it. You can too. It was hard. It still is hard. I still make my own work. I shot a short film over a weekend last month and I’m currently raising finance for a feature film. No matter where my career goes, I can’t imagine giving up that ethos of doing my own thing alongside it, because it’s fun, it’s fulfilling and it means I get to work with my friends. There are no guarantees, but why not do something to give yourself an edge?

So what’s stopping you? See you at the web festivals.

 and find out more about Lisa on

I applied to assist the artistic director of , I didn’t get the job, but they asked me to be a script reader. I read scripts for the Bush and other theatre and TV companies for years. Script reading is a great skill for directing and a good way of earning money between projects. I directed several new plays on the fringe and in regional theatres, l assisted in theatres like the ,  and received the . I then got a scholarship to do an MA at  , after which I worked as an AP in documentaries for 主播大秀 Current Affairs. I also produced short films for friends and wrote and directed my own short films on the side. My last short film  was supported by Film London’s  scheme.

This is the film I sent as an example of my work, along with my pitch for for the 主播大秀 New TV Director’s scheme, which was advertised through . I applied for EastEnders because I watch the show and had been a fan since childhood. After the first interview, we were set a test to prepare for the second interview. We were given a second draft script, of an episode which was going out the evening of the interview. We were asked what script notes we would give (so all those years of script reading came in handy!) We also had to talk about how we would approach directing that Episode.

The scheme has been a brilliant experience and really well structured, with a mixture of classroom learning and practical experience. There is time to really absorb the vast amount of new information and new ways of working on a big iconic show like EastEnders. The first part of the scheme was in a classroom situation with a directing tutor learning the principles of multi-camera directing and learning how EastEnders works. We then had the opportunity to shadow the whole directing process, from pre-production planning meetings to spending time shadowing as many directors as we wanted on set. It was really useful because you can gauge what sort of a director you are or want to be by watching other directors at work.

The final part of our training involved two weeks actually directing some past scripts, with a full crew and a whole new company of actors and and post production staff. I was terrified the first time I set foot on an EastEnders set! The crew was much larger than I had worked with before, the show is so iconic, I didn’t want to mess up.

There is a lot of support at EastEnders. For example we had been given a tour of the studios but I kept getting lost. A PM (Production Manager) took the time to take me round again explaining how the studios were laid out. EastEnders took great care in finding each of us the right directing mentor who was an established TV director to support us through our first episode as directors. Together with the two weeks on the floor directing and editing, we all felt really prepared when it was time to direct our first episode. I had a blast with my mentor , who gave me a lot of confidence as well as learning from her experience and watching her work. It was a real thrill to see my name at the end of the credits after my first episode was transmitted.

You need to be pretty organised and focussed when directing EastEnders, because you have a lot of information to absorb and process very quickly before you can begin preparing the four scripts that make up a shooting block. You need to stay on top of your reading, so that you can track the story of each of the characters coming into your block. You need to know the sets really well and you need to communicate clearly and succinctly with all the HODS (Heads of Department) that are helping you to realise your vision and the stories within the block.

There is a lot of experience for us to tap into as new directors and sometimes when you are up against it, a timely suggestion from your Camera Supervisor, Art Director or 1st AD can save you time and make your work better.

The one thing I would say to anyone applying to the scheme is know the show you are applying for. Watch it, get information about the show from the internet, speak to die-hard fans of the show, and see why they love it before you even apply.

Since Afia directed as part of the New Director's Scheme (broadcast on 1st December 2016) she has subsequently been given her own block of episodes which she shot last month and which are broadcast next month.

How did you become a writer for EastEnders? What was your journey as a writer before then?

I've had two stints on . One from 2002-2009; and one from last year until now. This time around the process involved (Treadwell-Collins, EastEnders Executive Producer) asking me to write a couple of episodes (Lucy Beale's death aftermath in April) which I couldn't turn down as the material was so powerful.

Originally though I became a writer on EastEnders by not taking no for an answer. I grew up in East London. EastEnders was my dream job. I wrote letters, phoned people randomly, tapped up tenuous contacts, begged and pleaded basically. I was turned down three times. Eventually I managed to land a spot on a shadow scheme EastEnders were running. They liked my work and I was offered a commission. I grabbed the chance and never looked back.

Before EastEnders I had a couple of years on . I learned a lot up in Liverpool from the great . Experience of the writers' room, understanding story and working swiftly across multiple drafts stood me in good stead for the tornado of EastEnders.

Before Hollyoaks the road was long and wind-y. I signed on for three years, writing all kinds of things - Radio, comedy sketches, stand-up material - most of which never saw the light of day. While it felt at the time as if I was banging my head against a brick wall in hindsight I realise that bit by bit, contact by contact, script by script, progress was being made.

When did you find out you were going to be writing the live episode and what was your reaction?

I was asked last year. I felt honoured and jammy.

What has it felt like being privy to a secret that has reportedly resulted in over £10 million of bets – the murderer of Lucy Beale?

Keeping secrets is part of the job. This one has been bigger than most. While people have certainly tried to get the identity of Lucy's killer out of me I've found it pretty easy to say nothing. Spilling the beans could necessitate a rewrite on the live episode and that's something I really don't fancy doing!

What are the particular challenges of writing a live episode, do you have to change anything? What makes it special?

Logistics are the primary challenge. The lot and the studios are physically in different places. So you have to allow time in the script for actors to move from one place to another.

What makes it special is the one-shot nature of it. There's a frisson of danger. Things can go wrong. But it can also bring a real energy to performances. My hope is that audiences will feel they are really there in the moment with characters they love and know. Being live can amplify that feeling.

How do you plan and storyline such a long running plot strand? What is the process?

This is one probably best answered by Alex Lamb (Story Producer), the architect of the 'who killed Lucy' story. I'm pretty sure this devilish whodunit has been germinating in his mind for years. With long running stories, the challenge is finding the twists and turns to keep it interesting. I think this story has had loads. I loved and then getting run over for example.

How does it work being part of a team of writers on EastEnders?

The primary job is to take the episodes you've been given and make them sing.

Beyond scripting, you can be invited to contribute to the story process either at monthly meetings or long term meetings. I love story meetings. I'm never happier than when sitting in a room with other writers, talking nonsense. And when that idea comes out of someone's mouth that silences the room it's a great feeling.

Did you have to write lots of alternative versions? How many drafts did you go through?

No alternate drafts. It was slightly unusual in the sense that part of the episode wasn't storylined in the traditional sense. I did have a whispered meeting with Alex Lamb, Sharon Batten (EastEnders Senior Producr) and Manpreet Dosanjh (Script Producer). Off the back of that I knew exactly what I was going to write. Even though there was a lot of scrutiny on the script it was relatively straightforward - 4 drafts I think.

How do you tackle writing about such emotive topics as murder and grief?

Grief is universal. We'll all feel it at some point in our lives. Honestly, I just wade into it and see what happens.

Why do you think Continuing Dramas like EastEnders are important for writers?

What you write gets made - That's the point of being a TV writer. Along the way you'll make mistakes of course but you'll learn how to collaborate and understand what it is that you want to say. You'll also get an understanding of the way TV works, the people in charge, who goes where.

What advice would you have for anyone trying to get into writing for TV

Work hard. Try not to be a d*ck. Seize your opportunities. Do your talking on the page.