BBC Studios has made three new appointments working across comedy productions for BBC Studios Audio. Ella Woods takes up the newly created role of Development Producer, whilst Kate Dehnert and Cody Dahler (pictured) join as staff writers.
Charged with developing new podcasts and radio programmes, Ella Woods joins the team from the BBC Sounds and Radio 4 Podcast and Digital Commissioning teams where she was a lead comedy producer. Her credits include titles such as Welcome to the Neighbourhood with Jayde Adams, Evil Genius with Russell Kane and The Skewer.
Ella said: “I’m really looking forward to working with a team who have been responsible for so many of my favourite things throughout the years and I’m excited to explore what’s possible in this new role. I’ve worked on everything from period chats with Olga Koch to penalty shoot outs with Usain Bolt and Alison Hammond, so I’m open to lots of ideas.”
Kate Dehnert and Cody Dahler are the latest emerging talent to follow in the footsteps of a wealth of comedy writers who all began their careers in staff writer roles, once named the Radio Comedy Writer Bursary. Established in 1978, over the past 45 years the scheme has seen a veritable who’s who in the post where skills are honed working across the entire spectrum of BBC Studios Audio comedy shows. Writers such as Andy Wolton (writer of BBC Studios’ Trying for Apple TV), Simon Blackwell and Georgia Pritchett (The Thick of It, Veep), Rob Grant and Doug Naylor (Red Dwarf), to name but a few.
Their year-long contracts will see them working across sketch shows, panel quizzes and podcasts, affording both the opportunity to work on such respected flagship Radio 4 shows as The News Quiz and Dead Ringers, as well proposing and developing their own original ideas for series.
Kate Dehnert is a writer and performer from Australia. As well as performing her own shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and releasing her solo sketch podcast Loner, she has written and appeared on various Australian TV shows including The Project and Get Krack!n.
Kate said: “I’m utterly thrilled to be included in this year’s intake alongside Cody and to be absorbed by the comedy behemoth that is the BBC. I promise not to phone it in with ChatGPT nor use the position to pivot into news reading.”
A graduate of the NFTS, Cody Dahler has written for Dead Ringers, Newsjack, DMs Are Open and Please Use Other Door. He also has his own podcast series called The Bermuda Triangle Podcast and has performed live sketch comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and across London.
Cody said: “I am beyond excited to be one of this years' staff writers alongside the brilliant Kate and can't wait to be involved in some of the BBC's most iconic shows! What better way to kick off the year’s writing than this bland quote about how thrilled I am.”
Richard Morris, Creative Director, Audio, BBC Studios Comedy added: “I’m delighted to be welcoming Kate and Cody to our team. I’m looking forward to seeing them get stuck in to writing on our many and varied shows and being our go-to people for emergency jokes.
I’m also very happy that Ella is joining our team of producers. She brings with her lots of experience in the comedy and podcast worlds, and I can’t wait to see what new and exciting projects she conjures up.”
