ITV Studios Disabled Writers in Development
Programme · 2026Prestige 74/100
Twelve months inside a major drama label, and a 21,000 pound writer fee. The highest paid scheme we carry.
Deadlines & fees
Closed for this cycle
The 2026 round opened at 9am on 5 May 2026 and closed at 11:59pm on 26 May 2026, with placements starting late July or early August. No timezone is published. IMPORTANT: this is not an annual scheme. Only two windows are evidenced, in August and September 2022 and in May 2026, and we found no evidence of any cycle in 2023, 2024 or 2025. ITV describes the 2026 round as a return. The scheme also changed materially between cycles, from one partner label to four, from one required credit to two, and from a 500,000 pound fund to one million. The cadence is too irregular to predict, so no next window should be assumed.
Dates and fees checked against the official site 9 Aug 2026.
Key facts
- Formats
- TV Pilot
- Page limit
- 100 pages
- Eligibility
- UK residents18+Disabled writers
- Open to
- United Kingdom
- Required materials
- An original sample script of 10 to 100 pages, as a PDF or Word file, for television, film, theatre, radio or similar · A biography, which may be written, audio or video, or a CV · Submitted via Google Form with terms and privacy notice accepted
All four places are ring-fenced for Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent writers. You must be 18 or over at the date of applying and a legal resident of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, and writers can be based anywhere in the UK and Northern Ireland. You need at least two professional writing credits that you have been paid for, though television experience is preferred; co-writing credits, a single episode and a full series all count. Your sample script may be for television, film, theatre, radio or similar, running 10 to 100 pages as a PDF or Word file, and adaptations are accepted as samples, but the programme idea you develop must be original. Co-written samples are not accepted and AI-generated work is barred.
Prizes
A writer's fee of 21,000 pounds, subject to entering a script agreement, staged as 2,000 on signature for delivery of a series outline or treatment, 8,000 on commencement of writing, 6,000 on first draft delivery and 5,000 on script acceptance. This is the highest published writer fee in the directory. Travel expenses for meetings arranged by the label are covered, inclusive of a carer or support worker where the writer requires one; accommodation is not addressed. RIGHTS: the ITV Drama Commissioning team has first refusal to take the project into further development as part of ITV's drama slate and for the project to form part of the label's development slate. Note that first refusal attaches to the project you develop on the scheme, not to the sample you submit. The terms do carry a broad independent-development waiver, under which you waive claims including breach of contract, copyright infringement and breach of confidentiality arising from ITV's independent development of similar materials, which sits somewhat awkwardly against the FAQ promise to hold submissions in strict confidence and then delete them.
Judging
ITV Broadcasting and ITV Studios review submissions and select the writers, led by DEI Coordinator Natasha Dawkins. The label executives involved are Kenton Allen at Big Talk, Helena Murphy at Hartswood, Nicola Shindler at Quay Street, and Antonia Gordon and Kate Bartlett at Silverprint. Shortlisted applicants were contacted at the end of June with interviews in early to mid July. No individual feedback is offered on applications given the volume, though shortlisted interviewees receive feedback on one of three prepared drama ideas.
The PreList verdict
The highest published writer fee anywhere in this directory: 21,000 pounds, staged across signature, commencement, first draft and acceptance. Twelve months attached to Big Talk, Hartswood, Quay Street or Silverprint, developing an original idea into a commercial-hour pilot with that label's editorial team, with the finished script going to ITV Drama Commissioning. Travel to meetings is covered, explicitly including a carer or support worker where needed, and ITV Studios provides an in-house Access and Inclusion Coordinator. For a Deaf, Disabled or Neurodivergent writer with two paid credits, nothing else in Britain pays like this.
The honest part is scarcity rather than terms. Four places, all ring-fenced, and the terms are reasonable: ITV Drama Commissioning takes first refusal on the project you develop during the attachment, but not on the sample you submit. Worth reading the independent-development waiver, which asks you to waive claims arising from ITV developing similar material of its own, and which sits a little uneasily beside the promise elsewhere to hold your submission in strict confidence and then delete it.
The thing to know before you plan around it: this is not an annual scheme, whatever its profile suggests. We could evidence only two windows, one in late summer 2022 and one in May 2026, with nothing at all in between, and ITV itself calls the 2026 round a return. It also changed shape substantially between those cycles. Watch ITV's inclusion pages rather than diarising a month.
Dylian Salvatore, Founder of The PreList · Updated 29 Aug 2026
Frequently asked questions
How much does it actually pay?
21,000 pounds as a writer's fee, subject to a script agreement, staged as 2,000 on signature for the treatment, 8,000 on commencement of writing, 6,000 on first draft delivery and 5,000 on script acceptance.
Who can apply?
Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent writers only, since all four places are ring-fenced. You must be 18 or over, a legal resident of the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, and hold at least two paid professional writing credits, though television experience is preferred rather than required.
Does ITV take rights over my sample?
No. The first refusal held by ITV Drama Commissioning attaches to the project you develop during the attachment, not to the sample script you submit with your application. The terms do include a waiver relating to ITV independently developing similar material.
When does it run again?
Unknown, and it is not annual. We could evidence only two cycles, in 2022 and 2026, with no round in 2023, 2024 or 2025, and ITV describes 2026 as a return. Watch their inclusion pages rather than expecting a yearly window.
Is your script right for ITV Studios Disabled Writers in Development?
Find out free, before you spend anything. Upload your screenplay and The PreList checks whether its format can enter this programme, whether you meet the country rules and any regional limits, and scores the script. Pro adds a written read on how well it fits.
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