The BBC award for emerging comedy writer/performers offers a £5,000 bursary and mentorship to develop a comedy script

The inaugural bursary in memory of Caroline Aherne ran last year, and was won by Sophie Willan.

‘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,' said Sophie. '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.’

The bursary's aim is to support the next generation of character comedians. BBC Writersroom, BBC Comedy Commissioning and BBC North are looking for dynamic, original comic voices with Northern authenticity who reflect modern Britain.

To submit, send a link with filmed content of either a single comic character (1 minute) or multiple comic characters (2 minutes). The characters should have the potential to be developed as a sitcom. Include a biograpy and (if you have one) a synopsis for an original sitcom or short-form idea.

The closing date is 5 November.

For full details see the website.

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