We’ve often lamented the state of British drama on our TV screens here at the Scoop and it seems that we’re not alone. Screenwriter Tony Marchant, he of The Mark of Cain (pictured left) and Holding On, has been mouthing off about the dramas clogging our airwaves and has sent out a personal plea to commissioners to broaden their horizons.

Speaking to The Stage, Marchant fumed: ‘TV drama is pretty lame at the moment. Is that because commissioners have created such a risk-averse atmosphere writers don’t feel confident or liberated with their own material? Are they holding back, are they giving commissioners what they think they want? Or is it simply that most writers are crap? That is what you would think if you watched television. You would have to say the vast majority of work that is put out there is badly written and unoriginal.’

He adds: ‘When it’s top down, when commissioners start telling writers what they want, then writers are being reactive, not proactive. And as soon as writers behave like that, they are cutting themselves in half. If you don’t give writers the opportunity and platform, then they start asking commissioners what they want, which is a terrible question for a writer to ask. The commissioners should be asking ‘What do you want to write?’’

Marchant considers that this ‘castrating’ of writers is evident in the ratio of period dramas to those of a more modern ilk on TV. Though clearly disenfranchised with how the networks are operating, Marchant has a new series, The Whistleblowers, airing soon on ITV1.

Will these comments be heard or are the TV commissioners unwilling to hear criticism? Do they already know our dramas are poor and hoping to improve matters or are they content to import from the US and indulge a few sub-standard homegrown efforts? Is Marchant simply causing an outrage to gain some publicity for his new programme or is this plea heartfelt and sincere? Leave a comment and let us know what you think about the dramas of today.

[via The Stage]