BBC sets up comedy college scheme

David Mitchell and Robert Webb are among those endorsing the scheme

The BBC is launching a College of Comedy to help aspiring comedy writers.

The scheme will take six writers and train them for a year by attaching them to sitcoms and sketch shows.

The successful six, who must already have been able to demonstrate some achievement in the field, will also be guaranteed a script commission.

Applicants are invited to submit the first 10 pages of a half-hour script, or six sketches by the closing date of 14 April 2008.

Twelve writers will be interviewed, and the successful six announced on 16 May.

They will then each be matched with productions, given a mentor for original work, and attend a series of masterclasses in all aspects of comedy writing.

'Original voices'

Some of Britain's top comedy writers are backing the scheme, including Armando Iannucci, David Mitchell, Robert Webb and Simon Nye.

The scheme is being run by Micheal Jacob, formerly the BBC's creative head of mainstream comedy and executive producer of sitcoms My Family, Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps and The Smoking Room.

"I'm aspiring to be the Arsene Wenger of the comedy world by finding writers with talent and helping them to develop and express it," Jacob said.

"We hope to find people who are going to make our team-written shows better, and also writers with original voices who can develop their own shows."

Applicants should email their submission, and a writing CV to: [e-mail]