‘Children’s television is where writers like myself and Paul Abbott cut our teeth, working on programmes like ‘Children’s Ward’ and ‘Just Us’. We had the opportunity to write about the issues that effect children from a child’s perspective, tackling big subjects such as death and divorce. It benefited myself as a writer and hopefully was also beneficial for the many children who watched our shows, as well as the channel that produced and sold those programmes all over the world.
It would be a sad state of affairs if we only had imported programmes - the children’s channels would become saturated with American comedies and dramas for kids. As a nation we would be in danger of losing our identity and we would also lose the opportunity for new writers to see their work on television and learn their craft.
The children of today are the industry leaders, the healthcare workers, the political activists, and the parents of tomorrow, we cannot afford to marginalise them and ignore their needs.’
Kay Mellor is a writer with a long list of drama series to her credit, including Fat Friends (2000), Between the Sheets (2003), The Chase (2006) and Strictly Confidential (2006). She began working as a writer for Granada Television in the 1980s on Coronation Street. She also wrote for the anthology children’s drama series Dramarama, before in 1988 co-creating the long-running children’s drama Children’s Ward with her Coronation Street colleague Paul Abbott.
