Write A Podcast Drama in Five Weeks in October 2025

Course Dates: Wednesdays 7-9pm

Online from 1 October 2025 to 29 October 2025

Location: Live online teaching via Zoom

Cost: £195 for all five sessions

LEARN TO WRITE A COMPLETE PODCAST DRAMA SERIES IN FIVE WEEKLY TWO HOUR SESSIONS IN OCTOBER 2025.

‘A brilliant course!’ participant on the September 2024 course.

‘Beautifully written by Helen Cross, this five part fantasy drama creates a wholly convincing alternative reality,’ English Rose season two review The Guardian November 2023

‘Novelist Helen Cross proves a sure hand at creating both intrigue and suspense.’ English Rose season one review The Radio Times , July 2023

Join my online classroom and write a complete audio podcast drama over five weekly sessions. These live, inter

active online classes will introduce you to the industry of audio drama, and allow you to learn the skills necessary to write drama for radio and podcasts.

The course is taught by me, Helen Cross, an award-winning audio dramatist and fiction writer (www.helencross.net) and creator/writer of two seasons of the current podcast chart hit, English Rose Seasons one and two

Course Content:

On this podcast course we will look at the new opportunities in this growing industry and explore how to structure podcast drama, how to sustain tension in plot, how to build dramatic audio characters and how to write convincing dialogue. We will consider the state of the market now, and what commissioners are looking for from writers.

Each week members of the group will share their writing-in-progress, and by the end of the five weeks you will have a complete podcast drama idea, a first draft of all five episodes, with a clear beginning middle and end to each episode and to the series, a pitch, and a plan for what to do with it next.

Prior to the class you will be sent a listening list of podcast dramas to inspire and educate you about the form. We will discuss and learn from these dramas in the class.

No prior writing experience or knowledge of audio or podcast drama is necessary.

Feedback from 2024/5 course participants:

‘I really enjoyed your input and exercises, and I greatly appreciated your enthusiasm and wealth of knowledge.’ Participant on the2025 course

‘I loved every minute of our course.’ Paricipant on the February 2024 course

‘Thank you for running the sessions, I feel like it’s reignited the writer in me.’ Participant on the February 2024 course.

‘Straight, insightful, practical guidance.’ Participant on the February 2024 course.

‘It was terrific the way it was all broken down with homework and worksheets added.’ Participant on the February 2022 course

‘Excellent throughout.’ Participant on the February 2022 course

’I enjoyed hearing about Helen’s practical advice, and the week on structure was excellent.’ Participant on the February 2022 course .

Tutor Details

Helen Cross is an award winning novelist (author of the novel, My Summer of Love, which became a BAFTA award-winning movie starring Emily Blunt – and which you can currently watch on BBC Iplayer here ). For the last twenty years Helen also written drama regularly for BBC Radio and a number of overseas broadcasters. Her most recent BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play, The Return of Rowena The Wonderful is available now on BBC Sounds . Her Afternoon Plays have previously won Awards in her BBC Audio Drama Awards including The Innovation Award for the drama Blue Eyed Boy. She has most-recently written two seasons of a highly acclaimed podcast drama series, English Rose, currently available on Spotify, BBC Sounds and Apple Podcasts. It was shortlisted for Best Serial Drama in the 2025 BBC Audio Drama Awards. Her last audio work was the Afternoon Drama, Flixborough 74, and her next will be broadcast in five parts in September 2025.

Press praise for BBC Podcast Drama English Rose Seasons 1 & 2

Pick of the Week in: The Sunday Times, The Observer, The Times, The Daily Mail.

Shortlisted for BEST SERIAL AUDIO DRAMA in the 2025 BBC AUDIO DRAMA AWARDS.

‘Beautifully written by Helen Cross, this five part fantasy drama creates a wholly convincing alternative reality,’ Season two review The Guardian November 2023

‘Novelist Helen Cross proves a sure hand at creating both intrigue and suspense.’ The Radio Times July 2022.

‘Taut thriller from the impressive new drama strand Limelight…great fun.” The Daily Telegraph August 2022.

“Stranger fangs: this smart modern spin on vampire lore follows a secretive Yorkshire girl from her home in Whitby to NYC.” The Guardian July 2022

‘An original modern take on vampire lore this throws up some smart surprises and the cast deliver great performances’ – The Yorkshire Post August 2022

You can listen to Helen and the show’s producer, Mary Ward-Lowery, speaking about the process of writing and making English Rose in this September 2022 video Professional Development Session for The Society of Authors .

Dates: 1 October to 29 October, five weekly sessions on Wednesdays 7-9pm

Location: Live online teaching via Zoom

Cost: £195 for all five sessions