A film script written with the young Hugh Grant (yes, that one), a TV show about The Sex Pistols and a romcom based on his real-life relationship - just 3 of the top notch offcuts from the writer/producer of the multi award-winning TV drama Unforgotten.

Clips performed by: Toby Longworth, Lizzie Roper, Christopher Kent, Leah Marks, Nigel Pilkington, Emma Clarke and Rachel Atkins.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Chris Lang has created over 100 hours of original prime-time television drama since he cut his teeth on established favourites like Soldier Soldier, Casualty and The Knock more than twenty five years ago. Most recently his projects have included Dark Heart – a 6 part series for ITV, The Hook-Up Plan (known as Plan Coeur in France) – a French 8-part romantic comedy for Netflix and Innocent – a 4 part drama whose 2nd series will start filming later this year.  Other acclaimed dramas he’s been responsible for include: Amnesia (2004), Torn (2007), A Mother’s Son (2012) and Undeniable (2014) which was remade in France in as Quand Je Serai Grande Je Te Tuerai which was broadcast in France in late 2017 to an audience of seven million,

But it is for his multi-award winning detective drama Unforgotten, starring Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar, that he is probably best known and after three highly acclaimed series its fourth will hopefully be returning to our screens soon.

For more details about the writer, the offcuts and the actors performing them see the episode show notes:  https://offcutsdrawer.com/chris-lang

Yes she's a writer of *breathes in* TV comedy series's (her own and other people's), drama, animation, children's books, memoirs, novels, programme guides and plays but she's also won Masterchef and Mastermind. And she has some very useful advice to writers starting out.

Clips performed by: Keith Wickham, Leah Marks, Emma Clarke, Beth Chalmers and Toby Longworth.

Emma Kennedy wears many hats. Having trained in and practised law (a hat she then discarded) she has gone on to be an actor, novelist, comedy writer, producer, playwright, presenter, winner of TV competitions and Queen of Lego. You will recognise her face from her roles in TV comedies such as The Smoking Room and Goodness Gracious Me, or from her work with Mel & Sue, or even from her presenting on Comic Relief.  And you'll know her voice from countless Radio 4 shows and podcasts, in particular her work with Richard Herring.

Her second book The Tent, The Bucket And Me was turned into TV series The Kennedys. She's written 10 other books, including three for children that feature her character Wilma Tenderfoot. For children's television her writing CV includes episodes of Dangermouse, Strange Hill High and Waffle The Wonderdog, and after the success of her fiction thriller for adults The Things We Left Unsaid last year, a second novel, The Time Of Our Lives is due out next Spring.

For more details about the writer, the offcuts and the actors performing them see the episode show notes:  offcutsdrawer.com/emma-kennedy/

"Barry from Watford" and paranormalist "Clinton Baptiste" are just 2 of Alex's alter egos that you've likely met. But did you know he's written material for just about every comedy performer in the UK? Hear his story, and the worst impressions of Barack Obama and Tom Cruise ever. 

Clips performed by: Chris Pavlo, Christopher Kent, Emma Clarke, Lizzie Roper and Beth Chalmers.

Alex first worked as an actor as a teenager when he co-starred with Kenneth Branagh in the West End theatre production of Another Country. Since then he has worked continuously in all genres, but is perhaps most well-known as the man behind comedy character Barry From Watford, a regular on Steve Wright's Radio 2 Show, Iain Lee's various radio shows, the Channel 4 TV series Cheap Cheap Cheap with Noel Edmonds, and numerous sell-out live shows and podcasts, the latest of which pairs him with fellow "character" Angelos Epithemiou. He also performs live round the country as the spoof paranormalist from Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights: Clinton Baptiste.

As a writer he's written for impressionists Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona, for Miranda Hart, Peter Serafinowicz, Watson & Oliver, Ned Sherrin and countless other sketch and comedy shows, as well as creating several pilots for TV and radio shows both as vehicles for himself and for other performers. 

For more details about the writer, the offcuts and the actors performing them see the episode show notes:  offcutsdrawer.com/alex-lowe

From standup to multi best-selling crime novelist and screenwriter, Mark's own story includes hair-raising real-life encounters with gangsters and even serial killers. Among the TV show ideas and unpublished articles there's some standup material and even a song lyric which has yet to be performed by his band of fellow novelists The Fun Lovin Crime Writers.

Clips performed by: Keith Wickham, Chris Pavlo, Emma Clarke and Christopher Kent.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Mark Billingham is one of the UK's most acclaimed and popular crime writers. A former actor, television writer and stand-up comedian, his series of novels featuring D.I. Tom Thorne has twice won him the Crime Novel Of The Year Award as well as the Sherlock Award for Best British Detective and been nominated for seven CWA Daggers. His standalone thriller IN THE DARK was chosen as one of the twelve best books of the year by the Times and his debut novel, SLEEPYHEAD was chosen by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 books that had shaped the decade. Each of his novels has been a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller.

For more details about the writer, the offcuts and the actors performing them see the episode show notes:  https://offcutsdrawer.com/mark-billingham

As one half of the renowned Sitcom Geeks, Dave knows more than a little about what it takes to be a successful comedy writer. From his early association with Rik Mayall and co, through award-winning sitcoms and sketch shows, right through to his latest novel, Dave's offcuts cover the various trends of comedy from the past 40 years.

Clips performed by: Chris Pavlo, Emma Clarke, Keith Wickham and Rachel Atkins.

Dave Cohen was a stand-up comedian and founder member of the Comedy Store Players with Mike Myers and Paul Merton and now works as a writer, script editor and tutor (or as he describes himself on his Huffington Post page: "comedian, writer, typist". ) On TV his many writing credits include panel shows, sketch shows and sitcoms with programmes like multi-award-winning CBBC series Horrible Histories (for which he's written over 100 songs), Have I Got News For You, and Lee Mack's Not Going Out. On radio he co-created Radio 4's 15 Minute Musical, and performed in his own series Travels With My Anti Semitism as well as writing for many flagship comedy shows such as The News Quiz and The Treatment.

He's published 2 books about how to write comedy: The Complete Comedy Writer and How To Be Averagely Succesful At Comedy, with a third book, a novel, out shortly. As well as teaching comedy and script editing for other writers Dave has also co-hosted the Sitcom Geeks podcast with James Cary for the past 5 years, which now has nearly 150 episodes and is still going strong.

For more details about the writer, the offcuts and the actors performing them see the episode show notes:  https://offcutsdrawer.com/dave-cohen

Comedy writer/performer Katherine - "the new Victoria Wood" and star of the Horrible Histories movie, shares never-before-heard bits of her writing for TV and radio.

Clips performed by: Beth Chalmers, Emma Clarke, Rachel Atkins, Leah Marks and Toby Longworth.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Katherine Jakeways is a British comedian, actor and writer, whose writing was described by the Radio Times as "acutely observed" and they suggested she may be "the new Victoria Wood". Katherine has appeared in multiple television, radio and theatre shows. TV appearances include Extras, Horrible Histories, Sherlock, Tracey Ullman’s Show, Episodes and ‘Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge’.

In 2010 the first episode of her debut radio comedy, North by Northamptonshire, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 starring Sheila Hancock, Penelope Wilton, Mackenzie Crook and Geoffrey Palmer. Two more series followed, one of which was nominated for a Sony Radio Award. Also for Radio 4 she went on to write 3 series of All Those Women, starring Lesley Manville and Marcia Warren, one series of Guilt Trip, starring Felicity Montagu and Olivia Nixon, and she co-wrote 2 series of Ability with Lee Ridley. In 2016, Katherine’s radio play Where This Service Will Terminate debuted on Radio 4 about two strangers who sit next to each other on a train from Paddington to Penzance. The play had a positive critical and public response and led to four follow up plays, the last of which Where This Service Will Depart, was broadcast in 2020.

For more details about the writer, the offcuts and the actors performing them see the episode show notes:  https://offcutsdrawer.com/katherine-jakeways

A lesser known fact about erudite standup comedian Simon is that he used to write for porn magazines. But there's also scientist comedy in the mix plus a little bit of politics and the truth about whether he really is a Brexit comedian.

Clips performed by: Nigel Pilkington, Toby Longworth, Beth Chalmers and Keith Wickham.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Simon Evans is an established UK comedian with his own BBC Radio 4 series Simon Evans Goes to Market, and numerous TV appearances to his name which include two appearances on BBC One’s Live at the Apollo, one on Michael McIntyre’s Roadshow, and a season of Channel 4’s Stand Up for the Week. He is also a regular on Radio 4’s The News Quiz, and various other panel games, and from 1998 to 2002 wrote and hosted eight series of the news satire, The Way It Is.

For more details about the writer, the offcuts and the actors performing them see the episode show notes:  https://offcutsdrawer.com/simon-evans

A world without sex, a rubbish support group, the invisible woman making breakfast in her underwear - just 3 of the scenarios featured in the unfinished or rejected early work from the BBC comedy supremo Bill Dare.

Clips performed by: Toby Longworth, Rachel Atkins, Beth Chalmers, Chris Pavlo, Nigel Pilkington and Keith Wickham.

Bill is a renowned BBC radio and TV comedy writer and producer. For TV he created shows such as The Mary Whitehouse Experience, Dead Ringers, The Late Edition With Marcus Brigstocke, and I’ve Never Seen Star Wars. And radio shows he created include The Now Show, The Motion Show and – where also lead writer – Life Death And Sex With Mike And Sue, The Big Town All Stars, Les Kelly’s Britain, Brian Gulliver’s Travels and The Secret World (Gold Award, Best Comedy, 2014 Radio Academy Awards).

He has produced TV series such as Spitting Image (8 series), Loose Talk, the sitcom Mr Charity for BBC2 and the comedy/drama Twisted Tales for BBC3. He wrote the film You’re Breaking Up, broadcast on BBC2. Alongside his television and radio work, Bill has written two plays performed at the Edinburgh Festival; as well as co-writing Nina Conti’s five-star show, Talk To The Hand, and producing the recent Dead Ringers Live. He has three published novels – Natural Selection, Brian Gulliver’s Travels, and his latest: The Billion Pound Lie which was published last year.

For more details about the writer, the offcuts and the actors performing them see the episode show notes:  https://offcutsdrawer.com/bill-dare

Arabella rose to fame in The Fast Show asking "Does my bum look big in this?" which she wrote as well as performed, but did you know about her musical based on the life of Tina Turner? Hear a clip of that and various radio, TV and film scripts she penned that didn't get the go ahead.... yet.

Clips performed by: Rachel Atkins, Beth Chalmers, Leah Marks, Chris Pavlo, Nigel Pilkington and Keith Wickham.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Arabella is an actress, author and presenter. She is best known as one of the stars of the award winning TV sketch show The Fast Show, which enjoyed five series on BBC2. Her numerous television credits include Two Doors Down which was recently commissioned for a fifth series by BBC2 as well as Pure, Drifters, Doctor Who, Skins, Taking Over the Asylum, and Traffik.

She wrote the best-selling books Does My Bum Look Big In This?, The Diary of an Insecure Woman, Onwards and Upwards, Stupid Cupid, an autobiography The Real Me Is Thin, a trilogy for teenagers, and she co-wrote Posh Nosh for the BBC, starring alongside Richard E. Grant. She will shortly continue the tour of her first one-woman show Does My Mum Loom Big In This.

For more details about the writer, the offcuts and the actors performing them see the episode show notes:  https://offcutsdrawer.com/arabella-weir

Quantick, the swiss army knife of the writing world, has worked on some of the most iconic comedy creations this century, but now's your chance to hear his earlier, less successful work, plus the first ever online sitcom - about heroin addicts - that preceded his later triumphs.

Clips performed by: Alex Lowe, Rachel Atkins, Beth Chalmers, Toby Longworth, Chris Pavlo and Keith Wickham. 

For a tracklist of the clips visit offcutsdrawer.com/david-quantick

Warning: This episode contains strong language and adult content.

David is a comedy writer, cultural commentator, acclaimed best-selling author and music journalist. He works regularly with Armando Iannucci, including on the new HBO series, Avenue 5. He won an Emmy as part of the writing team on Veep, a BAFTA for Harry Hill’s TV Burp and a Writers’ Guild Award for The Thick Of It. David has written for everyone from Dangermouse to the Duke of Edinburgh. His books include The Grumpy Old Men series and the thriller The Mule. His recent books include All My Colours (Titan books), How To Write Everything and How to be A Writer’ (both published by Oberon). He has written and appeared on a multitude of BBC radio shows, including The Now Show, The 15 Minute Musical, The Blagger’s Guide and 52 First Impressions. His latest novel Night Train is out soon.

For more details about the writer, the offcuts and the actors performing them see the episode show notes:  https://offcutsdrawer.com/david-quantick/