A film script of the play quickly followed, and featured in the Brit List. This then became The Riot Club, directed by Lone Scherfig, and was quite frankly an incredible movie. Here’s hoping Wade makes a swift return to the screen.

UK TV

Freddy Syborn – Bad Education, Cockroaches

To many, Freddy Syborn has been unfairly labelled as just ‘Jack Whitehall’s mate’. While it’s true the two were best friends at school, and Syborn got his break into the industry via Whitehall’s success (initially writing the scripts for Big Brother’s Little Brother), Syborn has proved again and again he has the comedy chops to earn his success.

Bad Education was far more subversive than many give it credit for (although the less said about the film the better), and Syborn flew the coop when he created post-apocalyptic comedy Cockroaches, one of the most original shows to be on British TV in absolutely ages. While it didn’t quite live up to the premise, the 28 year old Syborn can only get better.

Dominic Mitchell – In The Flesh

Former playwright Mitchell managed to breathe new life into the undead with his brilliant, complex, and emotionally engaging zombie drama In The Flesh. Another success for the BBC Writer’s Academy, Mitchell had the idea for the show but no TV contacts.

However, after submitting through the writers academy, he was accepted and produced a script so good that the BBC commissioned a three part series. While In The Fleshwas controversially cancelled in the sweeping budget cuts happening at the BBC, Mitchell has remained a vocal campaigner for its continuation. Whether he returns to his world or creates a new one, it’ll be a must watch.

Jamie Mathieson – Being Human, Doctor Who

Gaining recognition with several excellent scripts for Being Human, Jamie Mathieson really came to prominence with a knock-out double in series 8 of Doctor Who, with his Mummy On The Orient Express and Flatline providing two highlights of an otherwise divisive run. Acclaimed across the board, it showcased Mathieson as not only a writer who understood Who completely, but also one who was seemingly comfortable in any genre.

While he also has the underrated feature film Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel under his belt, it seems that TV is where his talents really shine. With him gaining vital experience as lead writer on French sci-fi series Metal Hurlant: Origins at the moment, his is a name which surely must be in the running for the next Doctor Who show runner.

Joe Barton – Beaver Falls, Our World War, Humans

Young and incredibly talented, there seems to be no genre or project that Barton cannot accomplish with aplomb. Starting off in E4 comedy series Beaver Falls (much better than initial expectations), Barton really stretched his writing chops with the haunting, beautiful, and powerful Our World War, the breakout hit of the BBCs World War One season.

Based on the series Our War, Our World War took eyewitness statements to craft the drama, mixing it up with modern filmmaking techniques in order to bring home the reality of a seemingly historical war to today’s audience. After that, Barton took another left turn as he joined the writing team on Channel 4’s smash sci-fi hit Humans. A rumored film called Invasion is seemingly next up for Barton.

Rest of the world

Suha Arraf – The Syrian Bride, Villa Touma

A Palestinian from a small town in Israel, Arraf proves that you don’t need a phonebook full of contacts to make it as long as you have the talent and will to succeed. Fresh out of film school, she was asked to write the script for director Eran Riklis’ The Syrian Bride. Which had to be in Hebrew. Despite her inexperience and the language barrier, the film proved to be a huge critical success, paving the way for her follow-up The Lemon Tree, and her directorial debut Villa Touma.

Emma Donoghue – Room

Irish-born author Emma Donoghue made it look easy in her adaptation of her own novel Room, regarded by many as one of the films of 2015. But while it was her first screenplay, Donoghue has a lifetime of experience writing novels. Now living in Canada (and also a citizen there), and with a schedule of future books including her first children’s novel, the exquisite skill demonstrated in translating her words to the screen mark her as a natural sure to be much in demand from the studios.

Yared Zeleke – Lamb

Writer/director Zeleke’s debut film Lambbrought the house down at Cannes, and with good reason. The first ever Ethiopian film shown at the festival, Lamb distilled Zeleke’s incredible upbringing, which included fleeing the country after his father was imprisoned by the Marxist regime, into a multifaceted examination of Ethiopia today.

Alice Winocour – Augustine, Disorder, Mustang