The Stage

Female talent dominates Writers Guild Awards

Published Tuesday 25 November 2008 at 10:50 by Matthew Hemley

Female writers stole the show at the Writers Guild Awards 2008, taking prizes in eight of the 13 categories.

Heidi Thomas, writer of Cranford, won in the Best TV Drama Series category, beating Clive Bradley and Peter Harness for City of Vice, and Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah, who were nominated for Ashes to Ashes.

Elsewhere, Gwyneth Hughes won an award for Best Short Form TV Drama, beating Sarah Williams for Channel 4’s Poppy Shakespeare and Tony Basgallop, who penned Hughie Green, Most Sincerely.

The award for Best Soap went to the writing team of The Bill, while the Best TV Comedy award went to Ruth Jones and James Corden for Gavin and Stacey.

Corden and Jones beat Peep Show’s Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain and Outnumbered’s writing duo, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin.

Meanwhile, Best Play went to Lucinda Coxon for Happy Now?, which ran at the National Theatre, and Rhianna Pratchett picked up the award for Best Videogame Script.

Other winners at the ceremony, which was hosted by Jeremy Hardy and held at Bafta in London on Sunday night, include Tony Collingwood, who picked up the gong for outstanding contribution to children’s writing, and Dad’s Army writing team David Croft and Jimmy Perry, who were recognised with a lifetime achievement award.

The awards celebrate the work of screenwriters, playwrights, authors and videogame writers in the past year.

A full list of winners can be found at www.writersguild.org.uk