Watson's Wind Up

Watson's Wind Up, a topical sketch show for BBC Radio Scotland, has just started its 15th series. The show is recorded every week in front of a live studio audience and a new series of 13 episodes began on Friday 9th Oct at 6.10pm.  

Though the show has a core of established writers who have worked on it for many years it does have an open submission policy, as radio has always been a great way to blood new writing talent. Writers who started penning quickies for Watson's Wind Up have gone on to develop fuller scripts with the show's producers, The Comedy Unit.

The show plays out on Radio Scotland, but you can listen to it anywhere in the UK using the BBC iPlayer - so do have a listen to get a feel for the show and the type of material that works before submitting. Always keep in mind when writing material that it is a cast of three (two men, one woman).

As Jonathan is an impressionist he can tackle most voices, but have a listen to hear the regular characters and most popular voices that he performs. Your sketches don't need to have someone that Jonathan can mimic, the material could be two people talking in a pub, or simply a two line joke that can be used as a newsline.

Your material must have a topical focus, satirising people and stories that have been in the news.   National news stories regularly feature in the show, but you'll have more of a chance if it has a Scottish angle.   The BBC news site has a page dedicated to Scottish stories so visit that for research if you want to know what is making the headlines North of the Border.  Scottish papers like The Daily Record, The Scotsman, and The Herald also have regularly updated websites.

So the main points again:

• Cast of three: two men, one woman
• Topical, topical, topical
• Listen to the show and get a feel for material that works

If you've never written topical material before then have a go as it's a different skill and discipline but if you have designs on a comedy writing career the ability to write topical gags will help you develop as a writer.

Deadline:  Thursday at noon.

Email your sketches to philipdiffer@comedyunit.co.uk. Sketches should be attached on .doc files only and your name stated clearly on each sketch.