Lionsgate UK and Idris Elba’s Green Door Pictures are partnering to launch the Write To Green Light competition, designed to discover new creative voices for television in the returnable drama space. Lionsgate’s Zygi Kamasa and Elba will judge the entries alongside a panel of industry experts. The winner receives a paid option with Green Door Pictures and Lionsgate, with a view to developing the series for production. Submissions are now open through August 8. A live event later in the year will feature rehearsed readings from three finalists’ scripts before the winner is announced that evening. The readings will be performed and directed by high caliber professionals alongside up-and-coming actors in order to offer them a similar platform and round off the project’s overall commitment to supporting and elevating talent. There are two categories for entrants. The first is for writers with professional TV credits, but whose original series, miniseries or stand-alone ideas have not been produced or broadcast by a UK broadcaster, including online platforms. The second category is for those with a background in theater, short form content or film, but who have no UK broadcast credits.

REX/Shutterstock English footballer Jamie Vardy may still be smarting from last night’s Euro 2016 ouster at the hands of Iceland, but the biopic of his incredible rise is gaining momentum. The King’s Speech producer Bedlam Productions has joined with Knightsbridge Films to tell the story of the striker who ascended from the sport’s lower divisions to help Leicester City win the 2015-2016 Premier League championship against huge odds, while becoming a record-breaking goal-scorer for the club. Knightsbridge had earlier secured the rights to Vardy’s upcoming autobiography. Adrian Butchart (Goal!) will produce for Knightsbridge, with Simon Egan and Gareth Ellis-Unwin producing for Bedlam. Unwin recently produced the BAFTA-nominated and BIFA-winning war drama Kajaki: The True Story.