At this year’s Edinburgh TV festival, there has just been a very exciting announcement for any prospective directors out there. In collaboration with Creative Skillset and Directors UK, BBC Writersroom and BBC Drama haveput together a new ‘on-the-job’ training scheme for directors early in their career.
Over the next year, 12 drama directors will be mentored on one of the 4 flagship continuing dramas (EastEnders, Holby, Doctors & Casualty); and, as part of their training, they will receive a full credit on one episode of their assigned programme. If the director has shown that they can meet the standards required, the show aims to hire them within 9 months for a full directorial commission.
It is the ambition of BBC Drama that this will be the first step of an ongoing partnership with each of these directors; and, as their careers develop, so will their relationship with the BBC and the wider television drama community.
This scheme has been developed by BBC Writersroom and is an exciting opportunity for early-career directors to get practical experience working on continuing drama with the full support of a mentor and production team; and it is hoped that, with the continued success of the scheme, we will start to build up a wider, more ethnically and gender-diverse talent pool of directors for the future.
We are delighted to kick off this scheme by inviting applications for EastEnders or Doctors – please apply for one scheme only; we are looking for directors who are passionate about the show they are applying for.
There will be four trainee director spots available on EastEnders and Doctors respectively and applications are open to anyone who meets the terms and conditions outlined below. More experienced directors will have the opportunity to apply for Holby City and Casualty later in the year – there will be two spots available on each of these shows.
You may be a theatre director with a substantial track record for the stage; a short-film or commercials director with a cracking showreel; or an Assistant Director looking to step up. Whatever your background – if you’re passionate about directing for continuing drama, we'd like to hear from you.
The selection panel will include: Anne Edyvean (Head of BBC Writersroom), Simon Nelson (Development Producer, BBC Writersroom), a team of experienced TV directors and BBC Execs from EastEnders and Doctors.
OPENING DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS: Tuesday 1st September 2015 from 10am
CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS: Friday 18th September 2015 at 5pm
LONGLIST INTERVIEWS: Monday 2nd – Friday 13th November 2015
SHORTLIST INTERVIEWS: Monday 16th – Friday 27th November 2015
FINAL SELECTION NOTIFIED: Friday 4th December 2015
TRAINING BEGINS: January 2016 (EastEnders); February 2016 (Doctors)
Please submit your CV; a pitch of up to 1 page explaining why you would like to be considered for the BBC EastEnders or Doctors Directors’ Scheme; and up to 2 hyperlinks to your showreel and/or other supporting materials. You can submit via the Writersroom online submission system – the submission link will be available on this page from Tuesday 1st September 2015. Please note that your CV and pitch must be submitted in PDF format.
For More information, please visist the BBC Writersroom website HERE
Read the FAQs for the BBC Writersroom online submission system
Before entering, please read the full Terms and Conditions
**Please note this opportunity will close at 5pm on Friday 18th September. Please allow adequate time to complete the submission process. No late submissions will be accepted.**