SCRIPT EDITING
In 2013 I joined the CBBC series MILLIE INBETWEEN as script editor when the first series was in development. A tender comedy set against the background of ‘blended families’, following the separation of Millie’s parents, it ran for five series and 56 episodes, becoming one of the BBC's most popular children's programmes. Millie Innes, the lead, was nominated for a BAFTA award for her performance.
As well as script editing almost all the episodes - from idea to shooting script - I was involved in storylining, developing new characters and helping shape the themes and direction of the show. I worked very closely with the creator and lead writer, Gary Parker, as well as a wide roster of guest writers, both new and more experienced. I also wrote the final episode of series 4, broadcast in Spring 2018, and one episode of the three-part special that saw Millie run away to Spain to join her father.
In 2019, Millie Inbetween spawned a spin-off series, the teen comedy-drama FLATMATES, on which I was script and story editor. Following the older cast members as they live away from home for the first time, Flatmates was the BBC’s first iPlayer commission for a teen audience, tackling more mature themes: love, sex and sexuality, race, drinking, workplace exploitation. A CBBC production, it pushed the remit of the channel further than it had ever gone.
FLATMATES: series 2 promo
One of the BBC's aims with FLATMATES was to bring newer writers through, giving them a first credit on a scripted half-hour. As an experienced writer, I was in a good position to guide and mentor them as well as help bring their finished scripts to production.
FLATMATES Instagram campaign
In 2022, I was script editor on series 2 of the Zodiak/ZDF production SILVERPOINT for CBBC. Created by showrunner/lead writer Lee Walters, this complex, fast-moving sci-fi drama had13 episodes, with guest writers contributing the majority of episodes.
SILVERPOINT
series 2 trailer
A writer-editor relationship needs a lot of trust to work. I've experienced the best and worst of it, from both sides, over many years. That puts me in a good position to help writers close the difficult gap between their take on a story, or a character, and the needs of the show: helping maintain their original voices within a series or serial, and linking the wider story arc to standalone episiode stories. It's always a challenge - and when you get it right, it's a joy.
