Playing drafts

Many scripts when they arrive in the inbox of producers or script editors will be labelled "Draft 1". But are they really first drafts? The answer is, probably not.

Very few writers, particularly newer writers, can simply sit down and write a first draft script that is ready to be seen by a producer. Of course, a tiny handful of extremely talented people can produce reams of work with that level of smoothness and consistency. But it's a tiny, tiny handful of people - and in many cases, their skill and ability are honed over decades.

The wonderful Jeremy Lloyd...