Tips – Writing for Children’s TV

At the recent BBC Salford Sitcom Showcase Vanessa Amberleigh, executive producer of CBeebies, gave an enlightening talk on how to write for Children’s TV, attended by the Comedy Crowd’s Northern England correspondent.  There are an increasing number of opportunities emerging to write for kids, not least because of the sheer quantity of programmes, particularly on the BBC where there is a desire to produce more sketch shows.  If you’re serious about a career in writing, what better way to make your first impression?

Here are the DOs and DONTs we picked up from Vanessa:

DO

• Be adventurous.  When writing for kids you are writing for an audience with great imagination. Don’t be afraid to do something different.  Execute it well and they will follow you
• Remember the basics of comedy writing still apply. Create strong characters and use 3 act structure
• Use repetition and reinforcement.  If writing a series consider using format points, a cue in each episode where the audience knows that particular feature or action will always happen (kids love these)
• Try to weave in an educational or moral dimension
• Make sure you include physical humour (but be aware of imitative behaviour – every outcome should be safe and every intention should be non-malicious)
• Make your characters laugh (laughter is infectious for adults, but the effect is amplified in children)
• Be mindful that children, generally, like mess
• Set up situations that create anticipation and suspense.  Think pantomime – ‘What can the audience see that the characters cannot?’
• Consider use of music and dancing (not always required).  CBeebies will even accept standalone songs as submissions

DON’T

• Make it too wordy
• Introduce lots of sub-plots, stick to one
• Prioritise including references for adults (a common mistake)
• Include topical or cultural references that will be lost on your audience
• Neglect the use of slapstick gags that you might consider cliched, children won’t always know what is coming

There you have it.  Well done to the BBC for putting on this great event for writers.

Join thousands of creators and fans receiving our free weekly newsletter with the latest opportunities and insights in the world of comedy:

Further listening – If you are serious about writing for children we highly recommend you listen to this Sitcom Geeks podcast with Ben Ward, writer of ‘Horrible Histories’.