UKTV & Female Pilot Club Spotlight Comedy Scripts with Women 45+
UKTV and Female Pilot Club have unearthed fresh female comedy talent with a new script challenge. They called on women writers to submit original comedy scripts featuring female leads aged 45 and above. Out of over 340 entries, four finalists scored top marks and will get top-notch development support ahead of live readings next year.
Meet The Winners: Four Female Comedy Stars Ahead
- Hayley Tamaddon – Soap star and Dancing on Ice champ, Hayley’s a West End and film veteran thrilled to be part of this initiative.
- Leigh Douglas – Actor, writer, and stand-up comedian known for her acclaimed one-woman show and comedy shorts hitting film festivals worldwide.
- Nikki Patel – Coronation Street alum turned writer whose debut piece is a heartfelt tribute to her mother.
- Sydney Stevenson – Writer, actor, and director with TV credits including Misfits and Red Dwarf, plus award-winning scripts under her belt.
Female Pilot Club: Backing Women in Comedy
Since 2019, Female Pilot Club has championed female comedy voices with live readings starring top UK comedy talent like Kerry Howard and Tracy-Ann Oberman. This is their first collab with a broadcaster, aiming to smash industry gender gaps.
“Female Pilot Club exists to amplify brilliant female comedy voices and we’ve been proud to partner with UKTV on this groundbreaking initiative to find stories that foreground the lives of older women,” said Kay Stonham, award-winning writer and Club founder. “We were amazed to receive over 340 submissions from talented UK writers.”
UKTV Exec on Diversity and Future Plans
Lindsey Rost, UKTV’s Development Executive for Scripted Comedy, enthused, “We’re thrilled to work with these brilliant female comedy writers. The strong submissions prove female and diverse comedy talent is thriving. We can’t wait to showcase these funny, fresh scripts featuring women leads over 45 in the new year.”
The Female Pilot Club was founded by comedy heavyweights Kay Stonham, Emily Chase, and Abigail Burdess to tackle gender inequality in film and TV comedy writing. With stats showing just 17% of UK comedy films and 11% of sitcoms feature women writers predominantly, this script call shines a bright spotlight on female voices ready to take centre stage.
