Deciphering Commissioner-Speak

Written by: Ed Amsden & Tom Coles
Published: Tuesday 12th January 2021

Comedy writers and script editors Ed Amsden and Tom Coles provide us with a guide to 'understanding that industry gatekeepers speak in code, then realising that you either need to crack that code, or nip back in time and go to school with the BBC Two commissioning editor'.

For the purposes of this exercise, let's say you just had the following encouraging email land in your inbox.

[quote]"Dear fragile young writer,

My name is Hugo Parkinson-Harkinson, the Commissioning Exec here at Oxbridge Television. Thank you for your script submission, 'The Funny Man Falls Down The Hole'. I have to...

Premium Tools & Content