Penny Leicester

Scene: The BBC Hostile Environment Course, pre Albania assignment.
Action: Penny has just spectacularly failed the 'spot the booby trap' test.
BOB THE EXPLOSIVE'S EXPERT: Penny, here's my card. Just call me if you find yourself in a minefield.
DANNY THE PROJECT MANAGER: (muttered under breath) For God's sake don't tell them we're setting up a soap opera.

Being fond of drama (and telling stories), Penny Leicester likes to keep a suitcase by the bed in case the call comes in the night to whisk her to a country in need of a dramatist. She has helped to set up and advise long running drama projects for the BBC World Service (& Trust) in Romania, Russia, Albania; and for Burma with its team based in Thailand. She is the first to acknowledge that the success and awards of these projects rest at grass roots level with their local teams and audiences.

Recent drama projects involved working with writers and actors in the UK, Uganda and Ghana; and she's an advisor the Rwandan drama: Urunana - now in its 9th year. Her ambition is to get the call from Cuba. She started her career as a BBC radio studio manager and recalls with affection her dismal failures before monolithic jack fields and the ducking of tape spools thrown by irate (justifiably so) sports producers. Thus she spent many happy staff years working across all outputs for domestic and BBC World Service. Her earliest drama highlights were to work with the luminous Gwen Ffrangon-Davies and to enjoy a pint in the legendary Marie Lloyd with the equally legendary R.D "Reggie" Smith.

More recent freelance highlights involve Whistledown drama-docs with Charles Wheeler and being involved in the production for Radio 3 of the Donmar OTHELLO, with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Ewan McGregor. She is a producer, director, writer and editor; from single plays to epic serials including the BBC production for radio of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. She is honoured to join David Prest and this talented team on the web site; and is working on persuading Whistledown to take up the challenge of Cuba …