The trouble with dreams, is that the reality is never quite the same.
When you dream your dreams in life, you only ever consider the pretty bits.

You never think about what might actually be involved in order to accomplish that dream. If it were ever to come true. You just never consider the practicalities of it. At least, I didnt.

Until now. But then, I've just been commissioned to write my first TV series for the BBC!

As long as I can remember, I've wanted to work in telly. I had a brief flirtation with the theatre after qualifying as a professional set & costume designer but my heart was never really in it despite attempts to convince myself otherwise. There followed a string of jobs with varying degrees of hollow fulfilment. I still wanted to work in television but it was becoming increasingly apparent that a past passion was indeed going to be a possible future path. I'd always known it. Really. I wanted to write for TV.
Not design the scenery.

In November 1999, following what still seems like a miracle, I was invited to join the staff of BBC Cymru Wales in Cardiff. Im an Operations Co-ordinator, working at the facilities end of TV production involving studios, outside broadcasts, camera crews & post-production. It's greatly varied, vastly interesting and has taught me a huge amount in the past four years.

But it still isn't writing though, is it? A fact which hit me forcibly about twelve months ago. I had to do something. It wasn't just going to land in my lap, was it?

Not really knowing how or where to start, I made an appointment to see the newly appointed Head of Talent, Maggie Russell. I thought I had a talent, she was the Head of Talent, it seemed to make perfect sense, so up I went to The Management Floor.

"I want to be a writer." I told her.
"Write, then," she said, and told me to come back in six weeks with something to show her.
It was a very short meeting.

At the time, I was part of a group who devised & developed ideas for new programmes. One of the initial ideas I'd had, was for a series of short dramatic monologues, set in a hairdressers. It seemed as good a place as any to start, so I sat down and started writing dialogue. Six characters, one episode each, sat in the hairdressers chair, talking into the mirror.

It was about people and set in a salon so I called it 'Condition'.

One character per episode; no interaction with other characters; no change of location. Simple. Easy.
Wrong.

I'd only managed to write some dialogue for each of the characters when the six week deadline was suddenly upon me. I knew better than to present some excuse and ask for an extension, so, scripts in hand and more than slightly nervous, back I went to The Management Floor!

This was it as far as I was concerned. I was about to find out whether or not the talent I thought I had was real. It was going to be a big moment. A lot was resting on it. Possibly my whole future. I steeled myself. As she put the scripts in a file in her top drawer, she thanked me for them and told me that she'd be in touch sometime soon.

I stood there in stunned silence for longer than was really appropriate. She had the good grace to pretend not to notice. I kicked myself on the way out. Of course she would need time to read them! It made me realise how little I knew about this process and more than a little silly. Back to work.

It was three weeks before I got the call.

End of Part One

Damian George