Original Voices Case Study, David Proud
David Proud successfully applied to join ITV’s Original Voices scheme in 2019 after convincing himself two months away from home would be doable to achieve his writing dream.
He has since secured a writing team position on Coronation Street, and saw the fulfilment of that dream as his first full Coronation Street episode TX’d in the 20:30 slot on ITV on Friday 14th May 2021.
When Covid-19 hit David had just begun to write his trial script and as the programme went into full Covid production planning the ‘Original Voices’ team pulled out all the stops to make sure the applicants managed to fulfil their placements.
David says: “Some of my earliest memories are of watching Coronation Street with my family - it’s a show that holds a very special place in my heart. The level of commitment Corrie and ITV give to the ‘Original Voices’ opportunity is wonderful. Wheelchairs and cobbles are normally a bad combination, but thanks to the efforts of everyone at ITV those famous cobbles are wonderfully accessible to all. It’s literally a dream come true”.
Coronation Street, Head of Story, Lindsay Williams says: “David's enthusiasm for the show really shone from the first time we met him at the Original Voices workshop. He had an obvious passion for the characters, stories and humour of Coronation Street and has been a fantastic addition to the team.”
Whilst continuing to write for the show David has also become a Mentor on ITV’s Creative Access scheme, supporting people from underrepresented backgrounds to thrive in the creative industries.
First launched in 2012 ITV has run the scheme on both Coronation Street and Emmerdale, giving writers from underrepresented backgrounds the chance to develop their skills at creating gripping stories, weaving multiple story strands and writing credible long running story arcs before writing a trial script for the show. ‘Original Voices’ will return to Emmerdale later this year (2021).
If you want to hear more about Diversity & Inclusion at ITV, take a look at our Diversity Acceleration Plan results.