The Television Workshop, formerly known as the Central Junior Television Workshop, is a British organisation that offers training for young people in performance skills for television, film, radio and theatre. Open to anybody between the ages of 7 and 21, the selection process takes place via an audition which is held each spring.

History

The Central Junior Television Workshop was originally set up by

Central Independent Television ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the ITV (TV network), Independent Television franchisee in Midlands, the English Midlands ...

in 1983 to act as a casting pool for young talent in their broadcasting region in the

English Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshi ...

.Bhagat, Adrian
"Adrian Bhagat put some questions to Ian Smith"
''LeftLion.co.uk'' (retrieved: 13 August 2009) The Workshop has two branches, the original one based in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

and another based in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, which opened a year later in 1984. The Workshop has been known as several different names, including the Central Junior TV Workshop, Carlton Junior TV Workshop, ITV Junior TV Workshop and most recently simply the Television Workshop.

Birmingham Workshop

In late 2008, the

workshop, run by director Colin Edwards and his assistant Ross Berkeley Simpson, lost funding from ITV due to the recession and so the Birmingham branch went 'dark'. At the same time Edwards retired. In 2009, Simpson started a new, separate group called First Act Workshops to ensure that the work continued in Birmingham. Colin Edwards helped on a consultant level. First Act Workshops trains young actors in weekly sessions from Moseley Dance Centre. The Nottingham branch of the Central Television Workshop still continues under the name the Television Workshop, under the helm of Nic Harvey.

Notable people

Nottingham

Birmingham

Unspecified

* Eve Austin * Arian Nik

Awards

* The

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Midlands Award (1988) * The

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Children's Award (1995) * The Children's

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

in recognition of its outstanding development of young talent for film and television (2006)

References

{{reflist

External links

The Television WorkshopFirst Act Workshop
(Birmingham Workshop) * Youth theatre companies Performing groups established in 1983