More than 2000 people submitted plays to be considered for a UK reality TV show that would reward the winning entry with a West End production. “The contestants – including call-centre workers, chefs and supermarket shelf-stackers – were whittled down to 30, where the programme takes up the story. At the next stage, the remaining 10 writers were hot-housed by a team of theatre experts and had to produce their full-length play. Then it was down to the final three, one of whom would have his play staged in the West End.”