Comedy and Drama Writer
djroberts.writer@gmail.com

Debs J Roberts

About Me

I've been based in the New Forest since running a local pub there. Having a career managing hotels and pubs gave me an insight into human behaviour and colourful characters who often step into my fiction. I write comedy and drama and have a number of projects currently in progress, the most recent, co-written with Nat Wood-Fox, was selected for the 2nd round of Female Pilot Club UKTV sitcom competition. I have written short stories for magazines and restaurant reviews, as well as working on novels. During a Faber Work in Progress course with Tom Bromley, I finished a novel inspired by my childhood experiences being part of a foster family. As part of Salisbury Writer's Group I've had work performed during fringe events and community projects. I love radio and would love to have more work aired.

Saving Roxy

A visit to a local community arts venue where the actions of the vounteers on duty were more entertaining than the film inspired Saving Roxy. Set in a run down theatre where straight laced Roxy has to step into her flamboyant father's shoes to save the theatre from financial ruin, she is helped, but mostly hindered, by the regular volunteers. Full of heart and slapstick Saving Roxy is an uplifting show full of fun and a little heartbreak.
"Strong characters, great flow and good jokes" Bennett Arron

SITCOMS

Saving Roxy is set in a dilapidated theatre inherited by accountant Roxy where she has to step into her flamboyant father's shoes. Helped but mostly hindered by his team of enthusiastic volunteers Roxy finds herself learning that there's no business in show business. With a cast of characters Saving Roxy is an uplifting but slapstick peek into the world of community volunteering.

Stuck In The Middle co-written with Nat wood-Fox is a comedy with two women from very different backgrounds thrown together with just a hedge to separate them. Hardworking widowed Sam has to contend with her frivolous and privileged neighbour Fizz who thinks Sam needs to live a little. Thinking she would be settling into the peace of middle-age with her nearly adult children Sam has to think again when Fizz arrives in her life.

On The Market is set in a weekly farmer's market where Annie has to run a stall to help her parent's farm to survive. As they navigate the diversification of modern farming life the market characters come to aid and interfere with Annie's ideas. While trying to avoid the attentions of Dan the sausage man single Annie realises the market manager may be interested in more than just her produce and being on the market might be a good idea afterall.

Team Spirit is a short radio play aired on BBC Radio Solent as part of the Upload sessions. Set on a team building day Jo suffers from vertigo but is too embarrassed to admit this to her team. Will Jo go zorbing or chicken out?

Stuck In The Middle (of nowhere) *Selected for 2nd round UKTV sitcom comp

Stuck In The Middle (of nowhere) They're not old and their lives are not over. Stuck In the Middle was inspired by a chat over lunch between Nat and myself discussing various incidents with neighbours. A combination of unintentional eavesdropping over fences, to eccentric neighbour personalities and the idea for Stuck in The Middle emerged. It features Sam, hard working and recently widowed, she moves to the countryside into the Sow House, a converted farm building, where she thinks she'll settle into peaceful middle-age with her nearly adult children, but she has to think again when her privileged neighbour Fizz jumps through the hedge. Force of nature, chaotic Fizz thinks they need to live a little and Sam gets dragged along for the ride

On The Market

On The Market is set in a weekly farmer's market where Annie has to run a stall to help her parent's farm to survive. As they navigate the diversification of modern farming life the market characters come to aid and interfere with Annie's ideas. While trying to avoid the attentions of Dan the sausage man single Annie realises the market manager may be interested in more than just her produce and being on the market might be a good idea afterall.

Team Spirit

Team Spirit is a short radio play aired on BBC Radio Solent as part of the Upload sessions. Team Spirit is a short radio play aired on BBC Radio Solent as part of the Upload sessions. Facing her fear Emily needs to hurl herself downhill, at speed, as part of a work’s team building exercise, Zorbing. Does she expose her fear or conquer it? Colleagues Toby and Sian are watching. Toby is concerned, Sian is more concerned with how it might mess up her hair. Will Emily conquer her fear and take part? Will Toby and Sian help or hinder her? Can they build a Team Spirit?

Saving The Day

Co-written with Nat Wood-Fox Saving The Day was written as a response piece during lockdown when the government guidelines were changing daily. A wedding in disarray has a bride and groom in such despair they hand over the organisation to their mothers. The pair need to perform a ruthless cull of the guest list. Can they do it before the guidelines change again or the happy couple change their minds? An audio piece for BBC Radio Solent

When The Bough Breaks

Currently adapting from my novel into a television script. When The Bough Breaks is a comedy drama set in the 80's based on an experienced but eccentric foster family as they take on the care of twins. Unfazed by most things the family find their new case disrupts even their usual chaos and might break their hearts

RADIO

Team Spirit is a short radio play aired on BBC Radio Solent as part of the Upload sessions. Facing her fear Emily needs to hurl herself downhill, at speed, as part of a work’s team building exercise, Zorbing. Does she expose her fear or conquer it? Colleagues Toby and Sian are watching. Toby is concerned, Sian is more concerned with how it might mess up her hair. Will Emily conquer her fear and take part? Will Toby and Sian help or hinder her? Can they build a Team Spirit?

Saving The Day a comic play co -written with Nat Wood-Fox aired on BBC Radio Solent about two prospective mothers-in-law organising a lockdown wedding as navigating the daily changing rules mean only mum's can manage but can they save the day?

Not so Super written for Rapid Reel Monologues a short story set in the height of lock down with an immune compromised husband and nurse wife

WIP Driving me crazy GenZ Becks gets driven to weekly therapy sessions by her mum and rants about life, love and bad parenting all the way home. A wry look at modern life for Gen z with the horrors of the world on their shoulders.

Various short plays and flash fiction for events during Salisbury Fringe Festival performed at Salisbury museum, the Secret Garden, and Salisbury Literary Festival

Collaborations

For the inaugural Comedy Women In Print Prize CWIP I had the pleasure of being invited to be part of the shadow judging team, I coerced a small group of fellow writers to form The Gladrags and Hags and we read the selected funny books and drank gin (CWIP was sponsored by Soho Gin so it was very necessary) It was great fun to review the books and contribute to the social media campaign as well as the CWIP blog.
https://www.comedywomeninprint.co.uk/post/gladrags-and-hags-reading-group-blog

Writing restaurant reviews for Salisbury Life and short stories for Wiltshire life was always interesting as deadlines had to be hit within tight time frames.

As part of Salisbury Writers I've written for Salisbury Fringe events alongside community projects and Salisbury Literary Festival. The first time I heard my words voiced by actors I realised that work can take on a whole new life when lifted from the page with the actors giving an added dimension to the words. The thrill lit my passion for script writing

I took part in Bennett Arron's Writing A Sitcom course, creating a sitcom in five days with a group of other writers. It was fast paced and a little like a game of consequences trying to fit scenes together around multiple writer's voices. I also completed Angie Street's Writing for Radio course which led me to write Team Spirit which aired on BBC Radio Solent as part of BBC Upload

Collaborations

I met Nat Wood-Fox at Blandford Literary Festival, we bonded over a love of The Detectoristsand a desire to write scripts and alongside another talented writer/performer, Sam James, we met regularly to encourage, inspire and create. Writing independently and together we forged ahead with scripts and sketches. We formed His Master's Farce with a view of collaborating and showcasing our work as a group and individually. Lockdown hit, halting our progress, but Nat and I started writing short scripts together to keep ourselves motivated and we created Sam and Fizz for Stuck In The Middle. We went on to create a response piece during lockdown Saving The Day aired on BBC Solent alongside numerous other short comedies and sketches to brighten our lockdowns. With Sam at the helm we hosted a dramatic read through of our sitcom scripts to aid us with timing and where the jokes worked (or didn't) and generally we just keep each other on our toes but always with a laugh.