Caroline Aherne Bursary begins 2018 search for comedy talent

BBC Comedy commissioning in partnership with BBC Writersroom and BBC North have announced the Caroline Aherne Bursary 2018.

Caroline Aherne, much missed comedy talent.

 “The first year has worked so well with Sophie in seeing her profile and experience rapidly grow to the point where we’re on course for a sitcom project. The Caroline Aherne Bursary is an extremely effective way to fast track a career in comedy for someone and a special way to remember and celebrate the legacy of someone audiences cherish very dearly.” – Shane Allen, Controller BBC Comedy Commissioning

The inaugural bursary scheme in the memory of the late Caroline Aherne was launched last year at the Salford Sitcom Showcase. Aimed at writer-performers, the bursary will award £5,000 to the successful applicant to enable them to fund future development, alongside the guidance of an experienced BBC commissioning editor.

In the spirit of Caroline’s work the Beeb are on the lookout for the next generation of character comedians. They aim to find, develop and support great comedy talent who have the ability to speak to the whole nation. If you can invent characters that make people laugh out loud and can tease an audience to come back for more, then the BBC want to hear from you! The search is on for dynamic characters that radiate a northern authenticity – writer-performers who reflect modern Britain with voices that have not yet been heard; original comedy talent that’s just bursting to get on our screens.

The Royle Family. A sitcom devised and written by Caroline and Craig Cash.

As well as TRF, Caroline was a hit with viewers as agony aunt and chat show host Mrs Merton.

Those wishing to aim to impress the corporation’s comedy department need to submit a link to filmed content of either one minute of one comedy character; or two minutes of multiple characters, along with a brief biography of your work to date. The character content must have the potential to develop in to or be linked to a sitcom idea.

The deadline for entries is 10am on Monday 5th November 2018 via the Writersroom E-submission system.

“Winning the Caroline Aherne Bursary has opened up so many doors and put me on the map not only as a stand up, but as a comedy writer and actress as well. I’ve met some amazing people, worked on some incredible TV and radio projects and I’m now developing my own sitcom script! It’s a brilliant scheme that honours Caroline and truly supports new talent.” – Sophie Willan, 2018 Bursary winner

Caroline as Denise in The Royle Family. The comedy star died at the age of 52 in 2016.

The Mrs Merton character proved so popular she was given her own sitcom, featuring her son Malcolm. The series starred, and was written by,  Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash.