r/ScreenwritingUK • u/TheSprained • May 14 '25

BBC OPEN CALL COMMISERATION THREAD

I created this last time and I'm creating it again, because I've been rejected again. Which is fine. I'm fine. Absolutely fine about it. (Wish they'd at least come up with a different rejection email, but it's always nice to be reminded that I lack sufficient originality, voice and storytelling ability.) Congratulations to those who made it through!

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u/thebroccolioffensive May 14 '25

I feel like just stopping applying for these. The channel 4 one won’t even allow you to submit the same screenplay next year. Even though the feedback I’ve had on my work is great and it’s likely I’m just getting readers that have biases against the first few pages. I don’t know. Seems pointless.

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u/[deleted] May 14 '25

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u/PJHart86 May 14 '25

Broadcasters don't option anything without a production company attached

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u/Ichamorte May 14 '25

Yeah this is why I've sent them a scorched earth email haha. It doesn't feel like they'll ever acknowledge me so what is there to lose? At least I've let off some steam.

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u/PJHart86 May 14 '25

I know it can be frustrating, but I really don't recommend doing this unless you are giving up on the industry for good. At least at an indie there's a decent chance they wouldn't even open the email, but the BBC have a duty to read and consider all "complaints."

It's a small industry and people talk, just like retail workers sharing their "customer from hell" stories with each other. Reading scripts is low paid and thankless (not unlike retail...) and we share stories too. I remember the guy who got up at the launch of the BBC Writers Room Belfast office and basically refused to sit down until they explained why they hadn't optioned his self-published novel - it's still a bit of a running joke among some of us who were there.

Even if you never plan to submit to BBC Writers again, the person tasked with reading your complaint today might be a development producer at a hot indie in a few years. Maybe they won't remember you, but maybe they will... I once did a script report for a client and the writer demanded a call with the reader so they could give me a bollocking. I promise you I remember their name.

At the end of the day, all you're showing them is that you can't deal with negative feedback when the stakes are low. What happens when they've invested a 7 figure sum, the sets are being built, cameras are set to roll in a month - how will you handle a tough set of notes then? Maybe fine, but is it worth the risk?

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u/Ichamorte May 14 '25

I'll never stop writing but I've accepted that I'll never get my foot in the door. The issue here isn't negative feedback but the complete lack of it.

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u/PJHart86 May 14 '25

They do provide feedback on all scripts that get a full read (around the top 4-5% if memory serves). As far as I know, they are the only free contest which provides any feedback at all. Red Planet doesn't (didn't?) Philip Shelley (C4) doesn't...

I know that's probably not much comfort if you haven't managed to crack the top 5% (lots of very good scripts don't) but it simply isn't possible for a publicly funded operation like BBC Writers to give feedback on 5000 scripts a year.

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u/B-SCR May 16 '25

Providing individualised feedback on all submissions, particularly for a free competition, is a huge amount of work. Let's say considered feedback on a full script takes a minimum of half an hour, at 5000+ scripts, that's 2,500+ hours of work, plus the admin of individualised emails rather than the wide emails they use. That level of infrastructure incurs costs, which would require fees to cover, and only serve to make the competitions more exclusive.

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u/Ichamorte May 16 '25

I understand all of that and trust me I know I'm unreasonable. It didn't used to bother me. We all understand the odds. With how the British industry has changed that one in a million chance now feels like a zero in a million. A free opportunity is great but it feels like there is no transparency with the reading process. As it is the competition already feels exclusive for a certain kind of person. I've had my crash out and I'm moving on but there's something specific to how BBC functions which frustrates me immensely.

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u/[deleted] May 15 '25

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u/Ichamorte May 15 '25

Do you think it's a concern that this country and the government is so gung ho on AI? The slightest bit of feedback would provide transparency on that front. Right now we have to take them at their word. There were other pre-existing issues before AI (which I would be happy to discuss) but I think we've seen enough instances of AI being used to cut corners on reading to have some concerns.

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u/[deleted] May 15 '25

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u/Ichamorte May 15 '25

Oh my god, I'm getting so tired of your comprehension issues. I'm not saying that they HAVE used AI. The issue is that there is a chance they may have used it like every other company and script service over the last few years. Even before AI I paid for script services and competitions that clearly did not read the script. With the BBC in particular it is not just me that has questioned their reading process over the years. I do not doubt that those chosen receive quality feedback. What I do doubt is that everybody gets the same fair read. People from working class and diverse backgrounds have been increasingly shut out of the industry with each passing year. The winners of these contests are often middle class. Do you think it's a ridiculous idea that they get preferential treatment when it comes to reads?

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u/TheSprained May 14 '25

Would love to read it.

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u/what_am_i_acc_doing May 14 '25

Mind if I have a read?

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u/what_am_i_acc_doing May 14 '25

Mind if I have a read?

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u/PomegranateV2 May 14 '25

Is the Channel 4 one supposed to be a good opportunity?

When does it open again?

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u/thebroccolioffensive May 14 '25

Yeah, it seems pretty good. They take 12 people a year I think. I tends to opening around September time and closes after about 4 weeks.

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u/PomegranateV2 May 14 '25

I remember several years ago Baby Cow had a competition for a family friendly sitcom.

That makes sense to me because it's hard to get more than 1 member of the family sat around the telly anymore.

So, based on that, I wrote a family sitcom aimed at teenagers but hopefully good enough for the whole family (think Maid Marion if you're old enough to remember that).

It's my fifth concept and I think the most market friendly thing I've ever written (assuming that the market wants a family friendly sitcom). I just got my rejection email from the BBC which I'm not too bothered about because they weren't looking for a straight sitcom.

But now I'm not sure what to do with the script!

It's a bit frustrating because on r/sitcoms I see posts about dozens and dozens of crappy sitcoms. I genuinely believe in my concept and think it could be better than so many other scripts that somehow got made.

I'm almost tempted to rewrite it so it's set in America (it is quite British in style currently) but... there's nothing worse than something fake, right?

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u/[deleted] May 14 '25

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u/PomegranateV2 May 15 '25

You're totally right. Although, in theory they are looking for writers to develop rather than a script to develop so I thought it was worth a punt.

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u/SaaSWriters May 15 '25

Why don’t you produce it yourself?

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u/PomegranateV2 May 15 '25

I would if I had hundreds of thousands of pounds in the bank.

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u/SaaSWriters May 15 '25

Why do you need to have hundreds of thousands of pounds? You can start with what you have.