Practical ideas

When developing your sitcom idea, it's tempting to dream big. Exotic locations, massive casts, elaborate set-pieces - all very exciting on paper.

But here's the reality: television is a business. And businesses need practical, sustainable ideas.

Your brilliant concept about time-travelling pirates might be creatively ambitious, but it's probably not getting commissioned.

The most successful British sitcoms are usually very contained.

The Royle Family rarely leaves the living room. Peep Show operates from a flat, an office, and a few local spots. Friday Night Dinner unfolds almost entirely in one house.

This isn't creative limitation - it's practical story telling.