Sometimes the answer is just: no. But if every gamble paid off, the payout wouldn't be as thrilling. I think you need failures to define successes.

I always think the reaction to a show that writes itself into a brick wall should be more like 'OH unlucky!!' Rather than 'fuckin fools'. The best television reacts to itself and its discoveries and instincts. The gamble we take together audience and creatives is: can this all tie up in the end?

Another Great EHU Fiction Writer’s Network Event On Tuesday 17th March, the EHU Fiction Writer's Network (FiN) event celebrated 20 years of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, with founder of the prize Prof. Ailsa Cox, and two winners of the MA Prize, the brilliant Dr Carys Bray and the fantastic Dr…

Marvellous evening celebrating the short story at Edge Hill’s Arts Centre with Tessa Hadley, Sarah Schofield, Prof. Ailsa Cox, Carys Bray and Julia Clayton! All fantastic and another successful Fiction Writers Network event!

Here's my review of the latest of the new series of Play for Today on Channel 5, Lee Thompson's 'Special Measures': youtu.be/WbM-KMdLU2o?... #PlayForToday

Before prestige TV had a name, ER was already doing it... My love letter to the medical drama that's now coming to Netflix. #ER www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/er-...

Absolutely thrilled that #IFoughtTheLaw is Number 2 in the Radio Times ‘25 Best TV dramas of 2025’ Still available at ITVX

I'm delighted that Katie Crosson & I have just had this article published on TRIBUNE magazine's website which explains Play for Today & assesses its return on Channel 5, & has 3 original interviews with writer Lee Thompson (last night's SPECIAL MEASURES), tribunemag.co.uk/2025/12/tv-i... (1)

I'd recommend SPECIAL MEASURES on Channel 5 at 9pm tonight, the last of the first series of Play for Today 2.0. It really captures the pressure cooker environment of a Merseyside school facing an OSFTED inspection. #PlayForToday

Really made up with this. Special Measures tonight at 9 on 5. #PlayForToday

ANDOR was my favorite show of the year and frankly FRANKLY it’s not particularly close.

A fabulous piece by Jude Rogers that teases out fascinating behind the scenes stories with aplomb and leaves us with a question about the lack risk in our now embattled public service broadcasting. thequietus.com/opinion-and-...

This!!

This is a really good piece by @adey70.bsky.social for The Big Issue. An accurate assessment of what to expect of Channel 5's new Play for Today, which mentions some of the less often trumpeted greats from the original strand, like Destiny (1978), Sorry (1981) &, actually, The Spongers (1978).

Play For Today is back. I've written Special Measures which is coming soon to Channel Five.

Did this over the summer! www.independent.co.uk/travel/famil...

Had a brilliant night yesterday at the @laproductionsuk showcase of Play For Today with a Q&A afterwards. Amazing to see my script Special Measures brought to life by so many talented people. I feel so lucky and very excited for people to see it on screen. Coming soon to @channel5_tv #PlayForToday

Great opportunity for fresh new writers and untapped talent here. It’ll be me, Steven Knight, Jack Thorne and I think we can get the Williams Brothers to do a few if they’re up for it

It’s also fun on rewatch to pay attention to characters like Kleya, who become much more prominent in s2, but are already fully formed here.

Just finished Andor s1 rewatch. First 3 eps are still punishingly slow, and most of the supporting characters are more interesting than Cassian, but once the heist arc begins, it’s just brilliant.

Delighted to have written an episode for this revival of Play For Today. Out later this year! www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/c...

Wait. Chloe Kelly has scored the winner in two Euro Finals. Has any footballer ever done that?

Not many writers have made more of a difference than Jimmy McGovern. It was an honour to interview him for @liverpoolecho.co.uk on drama, Unforgivable, the importance of putting Liverpool on screen and how a builder working on his house launched his TV career www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpo...

Hurrah for #channel5. www.televisual.com/news/channel...

One for my filmmakers pals or any one interested in screenwriting. The great Scott Frank adapted Get Shorty & Out of Sight and wrote & directed Godless & The Queen’s Gambit. Smart guy with a lot of practical advice. Good chat about film noir, too. www.wtfpod.com/podcast/epis...

The irony if Ange wins this of winning in a controlled style that many people thought he couldn’t manage.

✨️I'm teaching a one-off online writing workshop on the evening of Monday 23rd June all about IDEAS.✨️ How do you have them on demand? How do you recognise a good one? And when you've had one, what the hell do you do next? Sign up here! 🎟 www.eventbrite.com/e/ideas-writ...

An absolutely fantastic drama is being repeated tomorrow on BBC4. The Lakes by Jimmy McGovern. The first series is one of his absolute best. Well worth a watch. #JimmyMcGovern

This week's Scriptnotes has Tony Gilroy (Andor, Michael Clayton) talking about the second season, and his shift from features to series. Already up in the premium feed. scriptnotes.net

Great move. Ideally something called Drama Of The Week would run for more than three weeks at a time, so I hope it does well enough for that to happen. LA Productions used to make Moving On for the BBC, so are experienced in low-budget standalone plays. www.advanced-television.com/2025/02/24/c...

The #Andor Season 2 trailer has arrived – with the Rebellion sparking revolution across the galaxy. Star Wars' acclaimed drama returns to Disney+ on 22 April. Watch the trailer here: www.empireonline.com/tv/news/star...

Some sketches of Rock Hudson and Doris Day after watching Pillow Talk on BBC2 recently.

Oh so now proprietary material matters does it

FROM???!!!! FROM!!!! FROM!!!!!!! So £530.00 for 2? I’ve seen a lot of Checkov pal and I’ve been lost in the Barbican complex on countless occasions and even Cate Blanchett is incapable of elevating either thing to a £600 night out thanks, this nonsense must cease

In my old life I'd be gearing up for the Prince Harry phone hacking trial this week. I don't think people have clocked this is potentially the peak of20+ years of phone hacking cases. So a quick thread of the issues (and if you're a broadcaster who needs someone to do a turn explaining this, DM.)

For me, the only thing that has ever hit the bullseye on many of these fronts re media/journalism is State of Play miniseries. Not the movie! It's bad! I WISH SoP was streaming anywhere in US, it is not, argh. Bill Nighy, Kelly Macdonald, McAvoy, David Morrissey, Polly Walker! it's a twisty delight.

Absolutely love this from @kathandersondesign.bsky.social and 'wound with cautious optimism' is a good way to head into any year.

Happy new year! Hope it's a good one but if not, there's always January 2nd.

People do seem increasingly affronted at being asked to suspend their disbelief for a minute and I personally think this is yet another sign of our society crumbling (Black Doves, available now on Netflix)

I made this point in the government consultation - if your magical thinking computer can’t exist without the stolen work of real humans, it isn’t a magical thinking computer, and no industry should be endangered to enhance it.

1) This feels like really good, bold public interest journalism by the BBC! 2) If you were around social media / online publishing circa 2014 and followed The Social Chain, it was soooo baffling to watch his reinvention as a business guru. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

At this point it’s been said in a hundred different ways, so I think people are being intentional about not getting it.

My publisher Farhana Shaikh has written a great piece for Writers & Artists about why the industry should remember the value of short stories and the writers who write them ✍️

The brilliant first half readers of tonight’s FiN event at Edge Hill’s Arts Centre with Dr Julia Clayton, Dr John Rutter and Sarah Schofield - marvellous!!

For the ANDOR season 2 preview cover I spoke to Tony Gilroy and most of the cast. Truly one of the coolest things I’ve gotten to do and I think this upcoming season is going to be something special

1/ We’re seeing an increasing number of AI-generated contracts for writers and we want to warn all writers against accepting these WGGB members are eligible for free contract vetting for UK based writers agreements - so if you’re ever in doubt please drop a line to [email protected]