In January, in collaboration with creators’ unions Equity and the Writers Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), The Society of Authors (SoA) launched a campaign to Save Audio Drama after the BBC had announced cuts to Radio 3, ending the only full length 90-minute audio drama radio slot and threatening the livelihoods of scriptwriters, voice actors and other creatives in radio. The petition currently has over 10,000 signatories, with Series 4 of our Advisory Clinic launching with a Save Audio Drama Campaign episode.

A new 90-minute slot on BBC Radio 4 has been announced at the annual BBC Audio Drama Awards, with Isley Lynn and Edson Burton named as winners of the 2025 Imison and Tinniswood awards, which are administered by the SoA and WGGB.

Theo Jones, SoA Senior Contracts Advisor, co-coordinator of the Scriptwriters Group and co-host of the SoA’s Advisory Clinic podcast, said: 

Whilst it remains a real tragedy to see the complete abandonment of audio drama on BBC Radio 3, we are hugely heartened to see the BBC’s renewed commitment to longform drama with the introduction of a new 90-minuted slot of BBC Radio 4. We would like to thank all writers, producers, actors, and listeners who backed our campaign to #SaveAudioDrama at the BBC and we hope that commissioners are tuned in to their thoughts and views as to what made the now lost, but clearly much-loved, Drama on 3 slot so unique. Our concerns around the availability of slots more generally for audio writers remain, and we will continue to seek concrete commitments from the BBC as to how many hours of scripted audio drama will be commissioned going forward across BBC radio channels and audio platforms, working in collaboration with other creators’ unions and through our regular forum.