DMs Are Open to return for Series 3, with changes
- Open door BBC sketch show DMs Are Open is returning for a third series. The first submission deadline is 10th January
- The show moves to a 15 minute slot on Radio 4, with a new yet-to-be-named host taking over the programme
- A webinar on Thursday 4th January from 7pm to 8pm will talk writers through the changes
The BBC's open door sketch show DMs Are Open is returning for a third series.
The format is now moving to a 15 minute slot on Radio 4, with a currently un-named new host set to take over from Athena Kugblenu and Ali Official, who hosted the first two series.
The BBC confirms: "DMs Are Open is back! The radio sketch show written by YOU - the listeners! Along with a NEW host, DMs returns for a new series of brilliant sketch comedy written by the public. Excitingly for Series 3, we're on the move from Radio 4Xtra to Radio 4. As always, the show will be available for catch up on BBC Sounds."
The new series will keep the same non-topical format as the last series. Each episode will have a theme again, with producers looking for sketches, notifications (one-liners) and voice notes to fit that theme. The producers say: "We are looking for outlandish and ambitious sketches that are short and punchy, with a high gag rate.
"We have made some changes to the format of this series. The most important to consider when submitting is that episodes will have a shorter runtime of 15 minutes. Because of this we're condensing our submissions windows. We will have 3 windows across our 6 episodes. Each submission window will contain 2 themes that will be used across 2 episodes.
"As we're only asking for 1 sketch on each theme, do make sure you go through your ideas, write up and send in your best one! We receive a lot of sketches each week, so think outside the box about how your sketch applies to the theme - the more original the sketch the more it tends to stand out."
The first submission window runs from Thursday 4th January at 7pm to Wednesday 10th January at midnight. "Brand New" and "Surprise!" are the topics.
The BBC will pay £45 per min for sketch, £22.50 per 30 seconds for sketch, £22.50 per notification and £35.50 per voice note. Further submission details can be found on the BBC website
The series starts broadcasting on Radio 4 on Wednesday 28th February.
To help writers prepare for the series, the producers Gwyn Rhys Davies and Caroline Barlow are running a webinar on Thursday 4th January from 7pm to 8pm via Microsoft Teams. Register
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