1. Word on the Street
Creative Writing student Hazel Clarke joins other Liverpool Screen School students
for an intensive two-day pitching and storylining workshop with ITV staff
The first day of the workshopswas dedicatedto pitching, with the morning session a practice run
for what was to come in the afternoon. The classwas split into two groups, one preparing to pitch
an idea for a game show around textures, and the other a reality show about men’s makeup and
people’s reactionto them.
As a student attending the boot camp, it was fascinating to learn the stages of the pitch that ITV
staff had to meticulously go through in order to get their idea commissioned: title and logline,
pitch gimmick, blockingthe commissioner, the pyramidof expectation, and the clincher. Each
side of the class deliveredwell for their first time, especially since we were all pitching to John
Whiston, who is the Managing Director for Continuing Drama in the North.
After the first test was over, we split into smaller groups, preparing to once again pitch to the ITV
staff for a chance to go to Media City in Salford. Each group pickedan idea for a television
programme to pitch: a reality show about reality stars after their fame has ended, a drama about
homelessness, a game show where a celebrity and normal person are handcuffedtogether, a
drama about five women on a bus and their life stories, and my group’s idea, a true crime thriller
which was given by Katrina Paterson, a third year Creative Writing student whose grandfather’s
first wife had been murdered.
The pitches were givento the ITV staff, John Whiston heading the judging panel, along with: Ben
Smith, a Development Producer who workson Popular Factual and Shiver;Matt
Cleary, Emmerdale’s Head of Production;Jim Adnitt, ProductionSpecialist; Nicky Gillham, the
Creative Account Manager for Northern Productionsand ITV Commercial;and AJ Read, the
Publicity and Engagement Manager for ITV inthe North.

2. Each of the pitcheswas impeccable but the ITV staff decidedthat the groupwho would be going
to Media City were the ones who pitched the game show idea about a celebrity and normal person
handcuffedtogether.
Creating stories for Corrie
On the second day, which was solely focusedon storyliningfor Coronation Street, John Whiston
and AJ Read were joined by Mark Bickerton, the Head of Editorial Engagement for Continuing
Drama. He’s responsible for the huge Richard Hillman story onCoronation Street and the
Cameron serial killer storyline on Emmerdale that we’ve all come to know so well.
The morning was structuredas a typicalstoryliningsession identical to those they would have at
ITV, eachof us shouting ideas out and bouncing developmentsoff one another.
“Our Coronation Street plot ideas included Craig developingbulimia, Tracey alteringthe breaks
on Carla’s car in order to kill her, and Ken buyingAudrey a puppy leading to Audrey expanding
her salon to include dog grooming – called‘Doggie Do’s’.”
The afternoonsaw the class split into groups once more, this time told to pick a story fromthis
week’s episodes and write the continuing storyline for each episode the following week. One
group lookedat Roy, Cathy and Alex, another three exploredCarla and Nick, and my group took
on the Platts, focusingin on Sarah and her erratic emotions concerningCallum’s murder and
their baby together. Each of the ideas was pitched to the ITV staff, and from there more ideas
were generated, giving us a realtaste of what working at ITV wouldreally be like.
AJ Read, the Publicity and Engagement Manager for ITV inthe North, had this to say about the
LJMU students:
‘It’s always a pleasure to go to LiverpoolJohn Mooresand this time the ITV teamwas evenmore
impressed with the levelof dedication, understanding and confidence fromthe students. We
always intend to try and help students gain a better idea about the industry, but it’s an added
bonus when they give us a run for our money with their ideas, pitches and storylining – there was
some really professionaland impressive work. Well done once again, LJMU.’
Thiswas a fantastic opportunity not only for myself and the other LJMU students to learn how to
pitch and storyline, but also to create contactswith ITV staff, onesthat hopefully canbe
maintained far into the future.