The Offcuts Drawer

"Dublin Trilogy" novelist and former comedian Caimh (CK) McDonnell shares his sitcom set aboard a ferry, a pre-Fleabag Fleabag and a comedy about what happens when multiple timelines meet.

Offcuts performed by: Jake Yapp, Darrell Maclaine, Kenny Blyth, Lizzie Roper, David Monteith and Rachel Atkins.

This episode contains strong language.

Caimh McDonnell is the internationally bestselling author of the Dublin Trilogy which is set in...

A rap musical set in a US prison based on a Noel Coward play, a sitcom about IVF and a story about JFK faking moon landings - just 3 of the offcuts from comedy writer and US showrunner Georgia.

Clips performed by: Desiree Burch, Beth Chalmers, Keith Wickham, Lizzie Roper and Jake Yapp. With additional music by Jake Yapp.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Georgia is a multi-award-winning comedy and drama writer, who ha...

Raconteuse Miranda shares the bits of writing that didn't quite make it, along with tales of her former life as a sex worker, in a show that's definitely NSFW.

Clips performed by Chris Pavlo, Bhavnisha Parmar and Emma Clarke. 

Warning: This episode contains strong language and explicit material.

Miranda Kane is a comedian, writer, and performer who garners inspiration from her previous career as a sex-worker and her more recent wor...

This is not a normal episode of The Offcuts Drawer but a taster of the excellent podcast In Writing With Hattie Crisell.

Journalist Hattie visits the studies of writers of all kinds – novelists, screenwriters, poets, journalists and more – to find out how they write, why they write, and what they can teach us about doing it better and the special guest in this episode is Graham Norton.

The Offcuts Drawer will be back with a brand n...

An investigation into the Mole-man of Hackney, standup material about pond-dipping and a bit of angst-filled teenage poetry are just some of the offcuts shared by Isy.

Clips performed by: Lynsey Murrell, Beth Chalmers, Darrell Maclaine, Shash Hira, Toby Longworth and Emma Clarke

Isy Suttie is a comedian, actress and writer who started performing stand up in 2002. She trained as an actress and has written for the GUARDIAN, the OBSER...

Scotland's "Queen of Crime" shares some stonking bits of early writing, including her attempt at a bonkbuster and the short story that prefigured her move into thrillers.

Clips performed by: Christopher Kent, Beth Chalmers, Leah Marks, Kenny Blyth, Emma Clarke and Rachel Atkins.

Val McDermid has sold over 17 million books to date across the globe and is translated into over 40 languages. She is perhaps best-known for her Wire in th...

The "Horrid Henry" creator gives us an out-take from her successful opera, unpublished articles and some other children's book ideas that despite her stellar international reputation still didn't get picked up.

Clips performed by: Beth Chalmers, Emma Clarke, Leah Marks, David Holt, Rachel Atkins and Keith Wickham.

Francesca Simon is universally known for the staggeringly popular Horrid Henry series. These books and CDs have sold ov...

"Friday Night Dinner" writer Popper shares some truly bizarre offcuts including the fake CV that landed him his big break in comedy, a prank community woodland notice and a sitcom about a wasp.

Clips performed by: David Holt, Alex Lowe, Toby Longworth and Lizzie Roper.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Robert Popper is an award-winning writer, producer, performer, and bestselling author.  He is the writer and producer...

A grab-bag of television and film scripts that didn't quite make it including a drama about GI brides and a psychological mystery set in the Scottish Highlands from screenwriter Andrea.

Clips performed by: Kate O’Sulivan, Kenny Blyth, Lizzie Roper, Shash Hira, Emma Clarke, David Monteath, Rachel Atkins and Beth Chalmers.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Andrea Gibb is an award winning Scottish screenwriter who has wo...

The West End theatre version of TV's "The Good Life", the "Toys" musical that came *before* the film... Jeremy's selection of near misses covers both stage and screen.

Clips performed by:  Alex Lowe, Lizzie Roper, David Holt, Beth Chalmers, Toby Longworth and Emma Clarke.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Jeremy Sams has written and created countless successful theatre shows including Amour (Broadway), Ghetto (Nationa...

Creator of "Guilt" and "Eric, Ernie & Me" Neil showcases some other shows that didn't quite make it and shares what it's really like writing for American TV.

Clips performed by: Lynsey Murrell, Beth Chalmers, David Monteath, Kate O'Sullivan, Nigel Pilkington and Kenny Blyth.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Neil Forsyth is an author and television writer. In television he is a Royal Television Society Award winner, a...

A sweary Karen Carpenter tribute act, women's rugby and the first black female astronaut - actress/comedian Jackie reveals an interesting range of subjects in her offcuts.

Clips performed by: Lynsey Murrell, Beth Chalmers and Lizzie Roper.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Veteran of the British theatre Jackie Clune started out as a drama lecturer before achieving critical success in her first one-woman show about Kar...

Comedy, horror, Scottish football and a dog pooing in a bedsit are all to be found in the never-before-heard clips from best-selling thriller writer Chris.

Clips performed by: Christopher Kent, David Holt, David Monteath and Emma Clarke.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Chris was born in Glasgow and worked as a sub-editor at Screen International, the Scotsman and the Edinburgh Evening News before his first novel, Qui...

Michael Gove humiliating himself at university, a KGB-supplied sex manual and tales of derring-do in warzones around the world from foreign correspondent Luke.

Clips performed by: Christopher Kent, Lynsey Murrell and Nigel Pilkington.

Luke Harding is an award-winning British foreign correspondent with the Guardian. He has reported from Delhi, Berlin and Moscow and has also covered wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Libya and Syria. Betw...

Presenter and columnist Jay knows about food. But he's an acclaimed novelist, journalist and musician too. Hear his unusual play with music, the novel that never was and his celebration of Welsh drag act Lady Ding.  

Clips performed by: Keith Wickham, Toby Longworth, Christopher Kent and Rachel Atkins.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Jay Rayner is probably best known as being the regular food critic for the Guardian...

A film script written with the young Hugh Grant (yes, that one), a TV show about The Sex Pistols and a romcom based on his real-life relationship - just 3 of the top notch offcuts from the writer/producer of the multi award-winning TV drama Unforgotten.

Clips performed by: Toby Longworth, Lizzie Roper, Christopher Kent, Leah Marks, Nigel Pilkington, Emma Clarke and Rachel Atkins.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Chri...

Yes she's a writer of *breathes in* TV comedy series's (her own and other people's), drama, animation, children's books, memoirs, novels, programme guides and plays but she's also won Masterchef and Mastermind. And she has some very useful advice to writers starting out.

Clips performed by: Keith Wickham, Leah Marks, Emma Clarke, Beth Chalmers and Toby Longworth.

Emma Kennedy wears many hats. Having trained in and practised law (a ...

"Barry from Watford" and paranormalist "Clinton Baptiste" are just 2 of Alex's alter egos that you've likely met. But did you know he's written material for just about every comedy performer in the UK? Hear his story, and the worst impressions of Barack Obama and Tom Cruise ever. 

Clips performed by: Chris Pavlo, Christopher Kent, Emma Clarke, Lizzie Roper and Beth Chalmers.

Alex first worked as an actor as a teenager when he co-s...

From standup to multi best-selling crime novelist and screenwriter, Mark's own story includes hair-raising real-life encounters with gangsters and even serial killers. Among the TV show ideas and unpublished articles there's some standup material and even a song lyric which has yet to be performed by his band of fellow novelists The Fun Lovin Crime Writers.

Clips performed by: Keith Wickham, Chris Pavlo, Emma Clarke and Christopher...