John Yorke has run both 成人论坛 and Channel 4 drama as well as working in the Independent sector on dramas including Wolf Hall. He set up the 成人论坛 Writers' Academy to train writers to work on the 成人论坛's Continuing Dramas. In his first stint running EastEnders he introduced popular characters including the Slater family and recently returned to run the show for the second time.
In this interview from our Scottish Festival in 2017 he explains why he started working with new writers and some common errors that he sees them make. He also describes how he learnt the basics of story structure - the elements which are common to all stories - and how Shakespeare's works can be used to demonstrate their validity.