After a 15 year career in advertising as a copywriter and Creative Director, winning creative awards in every medium, Ali embarked on an MA in TV Fiction Writing in 2017, thanks to a scholarship from BBC Scotland. Graduating with distinction in 2018, she won a place on the BBC Casualty Shadow Writing Scheme within the month. Ali was on the inaugural BBC Writersroom Scottish TV Drama Room and have been a finalist twice for the BBC Writer’s Prize for Drama. Her pilot ‘The Hotel at the End of the World’ was shortlisted to the last 21 of the C21 International Drama Competition and has since been optioned. Ali has had various original radio dramas produced, with more in development. Her screenplay ‘My Boy‘ won Ali a residency on this year’s Young Films Foundation. At the end of 2019, she got her first TV commission to co write an episode of ‘River City‘ to be transmitted in June 2020.
Work
Current
Currently writing Episode 18 of Series 22
Previous: Series 22 Episode 14 (co-writer)
Writing 1 x episode on Series 7
Radio 4 Afternoon Play, transmitted 7 July 2020 – listen here
Radio
Radio sitcom for BBC Writersroom Present, transmitted April 2019
Original drama for BBC Radio Scotland, directed by Kirsty Williams, transmitted January 2018
Original drama for BBC Radio Scotland, transmitted October 2016
Short Stories
• How to be Harry’s Friend
• Rory Bear and the Totally Completely Boring Weekend
• Making Malcolm’s Monday
• I am Ella
• My Big Sister’s Big Day
Writing Awards, Talent Schemes and Shortlists
• Shortlisted for TV Drama Writers’ Programme 2020
• Thousand Films Longlist 2019
• Young Films Foundation Participant 2019/2020
• Final 21 of C21 International Drama Series Script Competition, Sept 2018 with ‘The hotel at the end of the world’
• Shortlisted for Biggest Weekend Comedy Monologue, BBC Writersroom, May 2018
• ITV Emmerdale Storylining Finalist, May 2018
• Scottish Voices TV Drama Room, May 2018
• BBC Scotland Scholarship for MA TV Fiction, 2017/18