Michelle Lipton
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BBC Audio Drama Awards – Results!
January 31, 2012 — 2 Comments
The first ever BBC Audio Drama Awards, along with the long-standing Imison and Tinniswood Awards, were held at London’s Broadcasting House on Sunday, hosted by David Tennant.
I was thrilled to win the Imison Award (Best Original Drama Script by a Writer New to Radio) for my Radio 4 series Amazing Grace.
Huge thanks to the Society of Authors, the Peggy Ramsay Foundation and the BBC for both the prize and the event.
The full results were:
Best Audio Drama:
Lost Property – The Year My Mother Went Missing by Katie Hims
Producer: Jessica Dromgoole, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4
Best Actor in an Audio Drama:
David Tennant, Kafka: The Musical by Murray Gold
Producer: Jeremy Mortimer, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 3
Best Actress in an Audio Drama:
Rosie Cavaliero, Lost Property: A Telegram From The Queen by Katie Hims
Producer: Jessica Dromgoole, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4
Best Supporting Actor/Actress in an Audio Drama:
Andrew Scott, Referee by Nick Perry
Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4
Best Scripted Comedy Drama:
Floating by Hugh Hughes
Producer: James Robinson, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4
Best Online Only Audio Drama:
Rock by Tim Fountain
Producer: Iain Mackness, Made in Manchester for The Independent Online
Best Adaptation:
The History of Titus Groan dramatised by Brian Sibley
Producers: David Hunter, Gemma Jenkins and Jeremy Mortimer, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4
Best Use of Sound in an Audio Drama:
Bad Memories by Julian Simpson
Producer: Karen Rose, Sweet Talk Productions for Radio 4
Innovation Award:
The Unfortunates adapted by Graham White
Producer: Mary Peate, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 3
The winner of the Imison Award for Best Radio Drama Script broadcast in 2010 by a new writer is:
Amazing Grace by Michelle Lipton
The winner of the Tinniswood Award for Best Radio Drama Script broadcast in 2010 is:
Gerontius by Stephen Wyatt
Hollyoaks
January 4, 2012 — 1 Comment
For the last five months I’ve been writing for Channel 4′s teen soap Hollyoaks. The show’s going through a pretty major overhaul at the moment so it’s been a really exciting time to be involved. I’ve also met some of the nicest people I know and I feel very lucky to work with such a clever, talented bunch. Making big changes to a show that goes out five nights a week is a long slow process but I’m really proud to be part of it. If you haven’t watched Hollyoaks for a while (or ever) you should give it a go and see what you think.
I’ve written six eps so far and my first is finally due to TX tomorrow at 6.30pm on Channel 4. It’s also on First Look at 7pm on E4 tonight and on 4OD for the next thirty days.
TX dates for the others go like this:
Monday 13th February 2012
Monday 27th February 2012
Tuesday 13th March 2012
Wednesday 9th May 2012
Tuesday 5th June 2012
Amazing Grace shortlisted for Imison Award
August 16, 2011 — 8 Comments
My first radio play Amazing Grace, which was broadcast on Radio 4′s Woman’s Hour last year, has been shortlisted for the Imison Award!
The award was established in 1994 to perpetuate the memory of radio drama script editor Richard Imison, and each year a prize is awarded for the “best original radio drama script by a writer new to radio”.
The four shortlisted scripts for 2011 are:
Atching Tan – A Tober of Loki Nogo by Dan Allum
The Pursuit by Matt Hartley
The Barber and the Ark by Marcia Layne
Amazing Grace by Michelle Lipton
The winner will be announced later this autumn. [UPDATE: This announcement has been postponed until the end of January, 2012]
Storm in a Teacup
August 1, 2011 — 2 Comments
I wrote today’s episode of Doctors! It was script edited by Caroline Brittain, produced by Ella Kelly and directed by Niall Fraser.
“When his patient tells him about his blind date in a teashop, Heston has a tinge of jealousy – should he arrange a date for himself? Freya is desperate to find out what Kevin knows about her recent patient, while Mrs Tembe finds a surprising ally when she cleans the remaining graffiti from her wall.”
It’ll be on BBC1 at 13:45, BBC HD at 16:00 and iPlayer for the next seven days.
Cottonopolis – Rescheduled
March 29, 2011 — 6 Comments
As I understand it, the final two parts of Cottonopolis (the last 15m Woman’s Hour episode and Nick’s 45m series finale) will be broadcast back to back at 9pm-10pm on Friday 15 April, on BBC Radio 4.
If that goes ahead, it should also be available on iPlayer for 7 days afterwards.
Cottonopolis Update
March 28, 2011 — 3 Comments
Huge thanks to all those who’ve been emailing in to ask about the final two episodes of Cottonopolis.
As you will have noticed if you were following the series live last week, Cottonopolis was pulled from the schedule on Friday morning due to strong similarities between our story and the tragic news surrounding two women who were kidnapped and murdered in Wiltshire. It would have been insensitive to continue airing the drama under such circumstances.
We’re hopeful that the last 15-minute Woman’s Hour episode (written by me) and the 45-minute series finale (written by series creator Nick Leather) will still be broadcast at some point but we have no dates yet. Neither play will be available on iPlayer until after broadcast.
I’m very touched that so many listeners have been in contact to ask where they can hear the last two instalments, I wasn’t expecting there to be such strong interest. I’ll post the new dates on this site once I have them.
I know many of you asking are not regular readers of this blog and have come here via a google search so if you don’t want to subscribe to receive all updates (using the subscribe button on the left hand side) you can get in touch directly and leave me your email address and I’ll send a Cottonopolis specific update by email when I know more.
I’m sorry not to have any more information at this stage and I appreciate that some listeners have found the situation frustrating – but I’m sure you understand the reasons why and join us in our thoughts for the families affected by these recent events.
Thanks again for taking the time to get in touch, it means a lot to everyone who worked so hard on the series over the last few years.
[UPDATE: As I understand it, the final two parts of Cottonopolis (the last 15m Woman’s Hour episode and Nick’s 45m series finale) will be broadcast back to back at 9pm-10pm on Friday 15 April, on BBC Radio 4. If that goes ahead, it should also be available on iPlayer for 7 days afterwards.]
Cottonopolis
January 16, 2011 — 18 Comments
I’ve just finished writing a new radio series. It’s called Cottonopolis and was recorded last week on location in Manchester. All being well, it will broadcast on Radio 4 from 21st to 28th March.
The series concept was created by Nick Leather and consists of five self-contained stories which interlink and overlap across a week of Woman’s Hour plays followed by a sixth linked Afternoon Play the following Monday. The idea was that as the series progresses, each new story throws a new light on those that came before, with the final sixth story, the Afternoon Play, throwing all five of the previous episodes into a new light again.
I was responsible for the five Woman’s Hour stories and it was without doubt the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to write!
For more on Cottonopolis, you can read this article in The Stage.
Or listen to producer and director, Justine Potter, reflecting on some of the challenges faced recording the series here on Audioboo.
Amazing Grace
July 3, 2010 — 11 Comments
Every day last week, a radio drama I wrote for Woman’s Hour called Amazing Grace was broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
The response and the feedback from listeners has been astonishing. We were a radio pick of the week in The Observer, got some lovely press reviews, including a nice feature in this week’s edition of The Stage, and I was even invited in to speak live on Radio 4′s Woman’s Hour along with lead actress Wunmi Mosaku which was a remarkable (and terrifying!) experience.
Such level of attention for what was my first radio commission, and actually my first proper go at writing a radio script, has been surprising to say the least, and I’m extremely grateful to everyone who’s been in touch with their comments. Thank you for all your support – it means more than I can say.
A few people have expressed an interest in reading the scripts, particularly as the drama contains several action sequences, so I’m putting them up here whilst the series is still available to listen to on iPlayer.
The episodes will start self-destructing on iPlayer from 11am this Monday, 5th July 2010, so if you want to listen to Episode 1 you need to be quick. I’ll be taking the scripts down on Monday 12th July 2010.
Any questions about production and I’m sure the producer, Justine Potter, will be happy to answer them on her blog where she’s also been discussing how Eloise Whitmore, the Sony Award winning sound designer who recorded the series, built the sound worlds; and how composer Steve Kilpatrick created the incredible music, something he has also blogged about here.
I wrote about the pitching and commissioning process for radio drama last year, but if anyone has any specific questions about the development and writing process feel free to ask them in the comments section or by email and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Otherwise, I hope you enjoy listening, x
