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is a former member of our Northern Voices writer development group and has co-written 'The Well', episode three of the new series of Doctor Who, with Russell T Davies. We caught up with her to find out more about her writing career to date and what it was like to work on such an iconic show.

Watch Doctor Who on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer (episode three is available from Saturday 26th April)

Russell T Davies has spoken about you seeing him speak at an event when you were at school, is that partly what inspired your own writing career? 

Absolutely. The story is that I used to go to a place called the when I was a kid, which was and still is a theatre for young people in Manchester (that’s where I am from). One summer holiday, they were running a week-long workshop for us with a writer called Russell T Davies to teach us scriptwriting. He was so lovely, funny and so good with us kids. He was kind, and generous and ran the workshop in a way we could understand and engage with. By the end of the week, we had written scripts in pairs, me and my partners' script was called 0161 (this is the area code for Manchester). We had young professional actors come in and perform our work at a type of mini showcase thing. They had the scripts in hand and performed them. I loved every single moment of seeing my words come alive for the very first time in my life. From that moment, I knew I wanted to write scripts.

Were you already a fan of Russell's work at that point? 

No, because I was only about 12 or something, maybe a little bit older, so I didn’t know who Russell was before the workshop. However, after that week, I fell in love with writing and have followed his career ever since. I had this dream, hope, that once I finally made it into the industry, I would get to work with him. I have been a fan of his work ever since I met him as a kid. 

What were the next steps that you took towards developing your own writing? 

I did a BA in Media and Performance at Salford University. I did a scriptwriting module and for my final major project in my 3rd year I wrote, directed, and co-starred in a half- hour drama. I got a first for the project and got a lot of praise from my tutors etc. I always loved TV and wanted to write for TV, and this gave me the bug for it. I then made short films to practise my craft when I left university. Those were my first steps towards developing my own writing.

Can you tell us about being one of the winners of the inaugural – what did that lead to next? 

Yes, my aunty sent me the article for it that she found online and told me I would win it. I did not think that myself, but I was encouraged by her belief in me. I entered wanting the prize at first as I loved that company and always wanted to work with  (who was there at the time). However, I went to a roadshow event for the competition, the event was at The Contact Theatre actually, and there were speakers for the event giving more information about the award. They said that the best training ground for a writer is on a soap, and that some of the best writers have come from soap, so entering the Hollyoaks side of the award is very beneficial to learning your craft. So, I entered that one, sending in an extract of my script.

I made it to the top six (I think it was), we then we went for a workshop for the day at Hollyoaks, which was daunting. Everyone else was confident and I wasn’t. I didn’t think I would win. Then we had to do some further work that they set for us to do. I did it, submitted that and won! That then led to me writing an episode of Hollyoaks after the placement, which was aired. Then I wanted to write my own originals and went in pursuit of that and now I am luck enough to be a screenwriter for a living and have been for a good few years now.

You were part of our Northern Voices writer development group back in 2018/19. What did you learn from being part of that? Have you kept in touch with any of the group? 

It was great to have the extra support and being able to learn different skillsets. Especially how to approach writing a true story for drama, as we had a guest speaker who had just written a show for the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ based on a true story, and it was great to learn from him.

Yes, me and Tony Schumacher (creator of The Responder) kept in touch afterwards and we have seen each other since at events. I haven’t seen him in a while now though, but I’m very proud of what he has achieved. He’s such a great guy too!

You’ve worked in quite a few writers’ rooms, for example Noughts and Crosses, Supacell and The Ballad of Renegade Nell – what’s that process like? Have you got any tips on being part of a writers’ room? 

The process is always fun for me. You’re in a room with other writers, anything from around three to twelve other writers and the producers of the show and in most cases, a story producer and a script assistant or script editor taking notes. This can vary from room to room though, it just depends on the company and the show. You also have a headwriter/showrunner, who in some cases, you would have met beforehand in your interview, but sometimes you might not, it just depends on the interview process.

Then there is an objective for the writers' room, whether it’s to map out the series or beat out an episode or both. They can run from a few days to a few weeks. Like I said, it varies from show to show, there is a lot more to it, but that is the basics. 

Tips: be confident and know you are there for a reason, and remember you are working as a team and enjoy it.

How did writing for Doctor Who come about? 

My agent rang me and said that Russell has read your work and scripts, he wants to meet up and have a general chat. The chat was incredible, I really enjoyed it he also gave me advice on my script that he read which was really nice of him. Then at the end of the chat he told me there and then that he wanted me to be involved with writing an episode of Doctor Who. It was mad, as I really wasn’t expecting it. I was so excited to get started!

You’re a co-writer on this season’s episode The Well - what were some of the challenges and excitements about writing something set in the future? How did you develop the episode and story with Russell?  

The challenge was feeling nervous to be a part of such a big show. I have written something set in the future before, so that wasn't necessarily challenging. It’s more exciting as you get to push your imagination and be even more creative. Russell and I were in constant contact. We had lots of story sessions, a couple of times in person at the , and then the rest of the time over zoom. 

Doctor Who has a long history of scaring people behind the sofa. Would you say The Well is one of those episodes? 

Yes, it definitely is!

How do you approach embedding your own voice on a show with such a rich history? 

Russell always told me and encouraged me to bring myself to Doctor Who. He instilled a lot of confidence in me, and it was also a case of working hard and immersing myself in the process. I love the show so that helped too.

If you got the chance to write an episode of Doctor Who set in the past, where and when would you like to set it, and why? 

In the sixties in England, as my grandparents came from Jamaica to live here back then. I loved hearing stories from that time and have always loved that era. I love how fun the swinging sixties seemed to be in Britain back then. So, I feel like it would be loads of fun to set an episode then!

Can you tell us anything about what you’ve got coming up next? 

I have written on another ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ show which is filming at the moment, so that’s exciting. I have original projects in development with , and , and I have projects out with commissioners for a possible greenlight, so fingers crossed I will have my own show soon! 

What’s the best piece of writing advice you can share? 

Write from the heart. Trust and believe in your instincts and keep going even through adversity, as this industry can be hard, but just remember why you love writing and use that love and passion as fuel to keep you going.