Channel 4 Writing for TV Award winners announced

The winners of the Channel 4 Writing for TV Awards 2025 were revealed at an event last night (30 September) at Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne. 

The awards provide emerging television writers in the North of England with unique professional opportunities to propel their careers. 

All four winners will each receive mentoring, a £3,000 cash bursary and a long-term placement with a leading production company, funded by Channel 4’s training and development initiative, 4Skills.

The winners are as follows: 

• Jack Hartley who will have a placement with Warp Films, which produced the award-winning global hit Adolescence and series This is England. 
• Chanse Campbell who will have a placement with Rope Ladder Fiction, the production company behind long-running school drama Waterloo Road. 
• Cai Odu who will have a placement with FilmNation Entertainment, whose recent productions include Chris O’Dowd’s Small Town, Big Story, and the award-winning HBO mini-series I Know This Much Is True. 
• Tania Ferreyra who will have a placement with Bonafide Films, whose productions include the Bafta-winning Mood, and acclaimed drama The Last Post.

Sinead Rocks, Channel 4’s Managing Director, Nations & Regions, said: “We’re thrilled to support the Channel 4 Writing for TV Awards for an eleventh year, and help four more emerging writers to progress within the TV industry. Each winner should be incredibly proud of themselves for the creativity and talent they have shown, and we’re excited to see their journeys during their placements.”

Siobhan Morgan, Head of Development, Warp Films, said: “‘At Warp, we are all incredibly proud of our reputation for supporting regional voices and emerging, working-class talent, both on and off screen. We are so pleased to be able to work with New Wri6ng North and Channel 4, who share the same passions, to support and mentor Jack through this next stage of his writing career. Jack is a Warp voice through and through and we are excited to see where his talent takes him.”

Hannah Lee, Head of Development, Rope Ladder Fiction, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with Chanse on this placement at such an exciting stage in his writing career. He has a distinctive, filmic voice and a real talent for telling authentic northern stories that resonate far beyond their setting. At Rope Ladder Fiction, we are passionate about championing new voices and stories with both heart and broad appeal, and we believe Chanse’s work embodies exactly that. We can’t wait to see 
where this collaboration takes us"

Adam Woodhall, Development Producer, FilmNation TV UK, said: “The depth of emerging writing talent across the North, exemplified by this year’s award winners and the continued hard work of New Writing North, bodes incredibly well for the future of regional voices and stories, and we’re excited to play a small part in helping this new talent thrive.” 

Tom Dunbar, Executive Producer, Bonafide Films said: “Bonafide Films are delighted to be continuing our partnership with New Writing North, by o^ering a placement on the Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards 2025. Our origins are in Newcastle, and we are committed to championing and supporting talented writers from across the north of England. Each year we are impressed by the calibre of applicants and marvel at how quickly they progress through the scheme. We look forward to starting our mentorship with Tania Ferreyra who moved us with her ability to craft authentic characters and dialogue.” 

The awards are part of the Northern Writers’ Awards, which is New Writing North’s flagship writer development programme. They also form part of Channel 4 and New Writing North’s Talent Development Partnership which includes a new Screen Development Slate.

New Writing North’s Screen Development Producer Roxy McKenna will lead and manage the development slate, supporting the following writers to get their project/s ready for industry: Lynsey Cullen, Vanessa Hehir, Nora Murphy, Emma Nuttall and pair of writers JD Stewart and Olivia Hannah.

Will Mackie, Senior Programme Manager (Talent Development) at New Writing North said: ‘These career-changing awards recognise some the most talented screenwriters anywhere in the UK. Their work has stood out for their imagination and ambition, their strong and distinctive voices, and their exceptional storytelling. This awards programme is special because it places these writers with four remarkable independent production companies who work with each awardee in a personalised and nurturing way to develop their scripts and expand their professional horizons. We love working with Bonafide, Warp, Rope Ladder and FilmNation and can’t wait to see how Cai, Tania, Jack and Chanse grow during the exciting year ahead. We’re massively grateful to Channel 4 and the team at 4Skills for their continuing support.’ 

The Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards were established in 2014 to offer new television writers based in the North of England unique professional opportunities. Over the last 11 years the awards have supported the early careers of writers including: Sharma Angel-Walfall, currently a writer on the new series of Doctor Who; Bafta nominated Jayshree Patel whose episodes for Hollyoaks were submitted for a BAFTA; and Adam Bennett-Lea, who received a commission from Bonafide and Channel 4 and has worked on Waterloo Road.