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Caroline Aherne Bursary

Award in memory of the comedy star and writer supporting the development of new comedy talent

I look forward to continuing [Caroline's] legacy with my own updated take on the Northern, working-class experience as part of this bursary and hopefully inspire the next generation, just as Caroline inspired me
— Sophie Willan, 2017 winner

The Caroline Aherne Bursary is now part of the new ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Comedy Collective Bursary.

 

Designed to find, develop and support great new comedy talent, the bursary was named in honour of the late award-winning comedy writer and performer Caroline Aherne, who created The Royle Family and Mrs Merton.

Now in its fourth year, it has proved a great springboard for talented writer/performers to bring new work to the screen.

Each year the winner is awarded £5000 to support the development of a comedy script and also receives mentoring from a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Comedy Commissioning Editor.

Sophie Willan was named as the first winner of the Caroline Aherne Bursary in 2017. Her pilot Alma’s Not Normal premiered on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two in April 2020 and has now been commissioned as a full series.

Writer/performer Amy Gledhill won the award in 2018 and now has a number of ideas in development.

This year's winner is Kiri Pritchard-McLean who is currently developing her scripted comedy idea with the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ.

Applications for next year's bursary will open soon and all details on how to apply will be available here, so please check back.


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