SUNDAY OPENING HOURS

Because the hollow void between the end of Sunday School and Monday mornings in the playground still haunts me to this day. Curated by @salrowb Delving a little into the Sunday habits of writers.

[sundayopeninghours]

CARIAD LLOYD

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM 

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

I used to always teach on a Sunday – improv, now I usually rehearse on Sundays – improv again. Yes, we do rehearse, no it’s not really cheating. As a freelancer Sundays blur into other days for me. I only notice it’s a Sunday when I see friends with normal jobs and wonder how  they got time off work before I realise they seem relaxed and it’s a weekend for everyone else.

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

Eggs. Eggs will somehow be involved, normally poached. I used to do the poaching, but someone else got really, really good at poaching so now they do it, while I put a wash on. It’s fairly quiet and simple.

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing?

Scraps of paper trying to make their way onto a word document via a laptop.

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

Usually it’s an episode of whatever comedy I’m obsessively watching. Lately Friday Night Dinner, 30 Rock & Broad City. Or if I’m very in need of comfort, Labyrinth might be put on. 

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

Eggs. Salmon. Bagel. 

FADE OUT.

Cariad Lloyd is an actor, comedian, writer and improviser. The Cariad Show, a pilot of her characters was filmed for BBC 3 is available now on iPlayer. She can also soon be seen in Sky Living’s new sitcom Give Out Girls and BBC3’s Crims.  She has also appeared in award winning E4 sketch show Cardinal Burns, CBBC’s Bafta-nominated DNN and a variety of BBC 3 online sketches. She is currently in Edinburgh performing in Cariad and Louise, Cariad and Paul, and Austentatious. 

[sundayopeninghours]

KIRSTIE SWAIN

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

Sundays are meant to be a bit aimless, but they always leave me feeling a bit bereft, especially if I don’t have a writing deadline. I need to write because it anchors me. So if I don’t have one on a Sunday then I need to achieve something else. Anything. Even if it’s just (like this Sunday) shortbread and three episodes of “Revenge.”

The main thing I don’t enjoy about Sundays is that I never get any exciting emails and by “exciting” I mean “work.” This isn’t as tragic as it sounds. I find it hard to separate what is “work” and what is “life” because actually, writing is my life and how I make sense of the world. Emails usually bring good (and also bad) news about work and by default, my life. Therefore they are exciting. This Sunday, the only email I got was from Ocado.com offering me 20% off my next shop.

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

Red wine and a good feed is normally a feature at some point.

If I’ve got writing to do I usually go to the best deli in the world, Minkies, on Chamberlayne Road. I sit in the window chain drinking flat whites and staring at people. I could eat their Minx Sandwiches for ever. Grilled aubergine. Salami. Tahini. Hummus. Rocket.

I usually go for a run. That used to just mean going round the park with my friend and it wasn’t for exercise, it was for talking. Now though, I’m training for a half marathon so I have to take it more seriously. I usually run to Hyde Park and round it. Or if I leave my phone in Hackney Wick like I did this Sunday, I get the train there and run home from it. IT WAS NINE MILES.

I’ve also recently taken up playing the piano again because I was inspired by Keeley Hawes’ character in Line of Duty. Similarly, if my neighbours play their music too loudly, I’ll go round there with a bottle wine.... (JOKE.) I used to play the piano when I was wee, so I’ve rekindled that hobby because work swallowed my old one (writing.) Now my Sundays usually involve at least a few hours of me playing “Kissing You” by Des’ree, quite badly.

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing?

I use a Macbook Air with a tiny, tiny screen or a notebook for lists and the beginnings of ideas.

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

I always watch Sunday Brunch on Channel 4 so I can pretend I’m going to make the recipes for dinner. I never do. Other than that, it’s whatever TV series I’m binge watching on Netflix at the time. Right now, it’s “The Good Wife.” I just watch it to see if Alicia and Will are going to kiss. I sit there going, “kiss, kiss, please just kiss.” I want to push their heads together.

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

Words. Wander. Wine. 

FADE OUT.

Kirstie Swain is BBC Scotland Writer in Residence, graduate of the BBC Writers Academy and Broadcast Hotshot 2013. She’s written for Holby City, Eastenders and Doctors and currently has projects in development with BBC Scotland, BBC England, Tiger Aspect, Kudos, Hillbilly Films and Raw TV. 

[sundayopeninghours]

SAMANTHA HAYES

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

I do like Sundays, although get a little cross with them for being too short. There are so many things I always want to fit in, but there’s never enough time. I usually end up doing chores and housework or going food shopping, which I always promise myself I’ll do in the week to leave Sunday clear for pleasant activities, but that doesn’t always happen! 

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

Not a routine as such, though I’ll probably indulge in a lie in with a good book. Breakfast will be more leisurely than in the week – probably bacon and eggs with lots of coffee. I’ll try and fit in a couple of hours of gardening before procrastinating about the aforementioned chores! I’ll sometimes see family and occasionally fit in a nice walk. But I always cook a Sunday roast late in the afternoon. That’s definitely a tradition in our house. 

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing?

Same as in the week. My laptop hooked up to a big monitor with my work in a Word doc. Plus I use Scrivener for keeping track of my novels, as well as Dragon voice recognition software to write with (saves me from RSI). Sunday may see me migrate from my office to the dining table to be more sociable. 

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

Sundays are perfect when there’s Call The Midwife to look forward to! 

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

Lazy. Food. Family. 

FADE OUT.

Samantha Hayes is an author from the Midlands who pestered for her first typewriter at the age of ten. Over the years she's worked as a private investigator, bar maid, car cleaner, fruit picker, accounts clerk, nursery nurse and a waitress. Since 2007 she's had several books published under the name Sam Hayes and her most recent novel Before You Die has just been published by Century. She is represented by Oli Munson at A M Heath.

[sundayopeninghours]

KATHERINE RYAN

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

I love Sundays because every two weeks, that's the day I get a lie in. My daughter is the best person on the face of this earth and I love her more than I ever knew love could stretch, but I seriously recommend every couple with a child splits up. Having a Sunday morning off while I know she's happy having breakfast at her dad's is AMAZING. Honestly, split up. 

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

When the dogs finally get me up around 10am, I make coffee. So. Much. Coffee. And I drink it in bed watching whatever programmes I may have missed while working all week. When you gig at night, you miss everything on tele. Then, I might walk to brunch in Crouch End with my boyfriend, not bothering to change into appropriate daytime clothes. Sunday is the day of the tracksuit. My friend Aisling has a 'traxsedo' for formal occasions. By afternoon, we've usually got a kids party to attend. With 30 children in my daughter's class, one of them is born every other weekend. 

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday)writing?

I like to write with a pen. If it's a script, I'll be on Final Draft but stand up MUST be written by hand. And on a napkin.

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

Mmm.....no, just catchup TV. Come June 6th, however, it'll be Orange is the New Black series 2 on Netflix.

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

Coffee. Rest. Repeat.

FADE OUT.

Katherine Ryan is a Canadian comedian, writer and actress, based in the UK. She regularly features on British panel shows and as an actress has appeared in Campus and Episodes. She has recently completed a hugely successful run of her stand up show Glam Role Model at the Soho Theatre and can currently be seen in the second series on Badults on BBC Three.

[sundayopeninghours]

SCOTT PAYNE

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

Sundays are crunch-time: my last chance to catch up with myself before the next week begins. I can be extra productive because I know that nobody with a proper job is going to e-mail me, so I can cocoon myself away for hours and write without distractions. Sundays can go either way; I can love them or loathe them depending on how well the writing’s going. (Please don’t ask me how well the writing’s going…)

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

I work by setting myself targets. I have certain things to achieve by each day/week/month, but if I’m on top of everything writing-wise I’ll try and take the Sunday off. I like to sit down with a book or watch the telly. Food is very important: having three meals a day is perhaps the only routine I’m any good at sticking to. I might go for breakfast at the café where my sister works, or enjoy a pub lunch and a walk around Castle Rising - one of my favourite places in the world. I might listen to a podcast or radio play as I take the dog for a walk around the farm fields, or I might chase her into town in my socks when she jumps the fence. Occasionally my Sunday will begin with a hangover. Usually it ends with “fade out”.

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing?

Final Draft, which I’ve found to be a bit finicky when you want to do anything more complicated than a standard spec screenplay, but maybe that’s just me. I like making notes with pen and paper too. My shelf is crammed with notebooks. Sadly most of them just contain doodles of The Simpsons. 

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

It would be the brilliant Gogglebox if that aired on a Sunday. Otherwise, if I’m up to date with all my usual shows and don’t have a box set on the go, my comfort shows of choice are Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The West Wing.

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner.

FADE OUT.

Scott Payne is currently writing for the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks and for the third series of Rocket's Island on CBBC. His co-written comedy show Is he a bit Simon Jay? is due to be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August this year.

[sundayopeninghours]

TRODD EN BRATT

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

LUCY: I love Sundays. An echo from childhood I guess as it is rarely a day of rest, but sometimes I get that nagging “should be doing my homework’ feeling. When not rehearsing for Showstopper!, or gigging with Ruth, Sundays are usually a time for family and friends and fresh air.

RUTH: I don’t really see Sunday as different from any other day now. After 15 years of self-employment, weekends tend to lose their meaning! Like Bank Holidays or Christmas… It’s hard to force yourself to have a day off when you’re a writer/performer – and even when I do, my brain is still working so I never really turn off completely. Sunday is rarely a day of rest, but when it is, that’s a lovely thing!

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

LUCY: Since becoming a mum, I haven’t had many lie-ins (more a regular lie ON my face by a 3 year old). Sunday is usually washing and Sunday roasts and a local park or a visit to a friend. We like to go to Downhills Park near us as the café has books and is open on a Sunday (my other park café closes on a Sunday WHAT!). If you keep going you get to Lordship Park - which is GREAT. They have a mini road system which has been there since the 1950’s. A great place to take the kids to learn to ride a bike.

RUTH: Most Sundays for the last 6 years or so have been taken up with rehearsing Showstopper, which is the improvised musical we do. For the next few months, Sundays will be spent rehearsing and/or doing shows at the Udderbelly – we’re on most weeks from April 13th through til July.  So as I say, Sunday is really a working day for me… Because there’s little routine in my life – I don’t HAVE to get up at any specific time every day, some days it’s insanely early, some days it’s really late, so Sunday kind of runs into that lack of routine.  Having said that, I do love the tradition of Sunday lunch.  I make a really good roast and just love doing it. Partly because I love gravy and it’s the best excuse for gravy! I like to spend the day with my fella, but because he’s self-employed (and a workaholic) that doesn’t always happen.  Our “Sundays” are often on Wednesdays.

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing?

LUCY: I used to use Final Draft for play and sitcom writing. But we did all our recent BBC Radio 4 show in Word with banners - easier to share. That and Dropbox.

RUTH: Really the same as any other day – depends where I am or how I feel.  I love the feel of pencil on paper and if I’m editing I find it much easier to do that tactilely on a piece of paper – editing on screen is harder for me. I generally write first ideas on paper – I have a desk full of notebooks that have lots of ideas.  Then if I’m writing properly I’ll do that on the computer, or if I’m out, on the iPad.  Whatever’s to hand to be honest.  I have a file of scraps of napkins, backs of envelopes, paper hats, all with scribbles and germs of ideas on.

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

LUCY: Currently I’m introducing my son to The Sound Of Music and all those films I loved (mainly musicals) as a child. If it was just me it would probably still be a musical- probably Singing in the Rain. And of course The Antiques Roadshow - my death row TV viewing - that is the funniest programme I ever saw. There really is nothing better than the Antiques Roadshow. My all time favourite box set is 6 Feet Under. Having watched Breaking Bad, All 7 series of The West Wing, Mad Men and various other ‘heavy hitter’ box sets- this still has the edge on character, concept and compelling stories for me.

RUTH: I do love ‘Persuasion’ and could watch that over and over. Also The Scarlet Pimpernel with Anthony Andrews and Ian McKellan – that’s a great one. Or anything baking/sewing/cooking oriented.  And there really is something incredibly reassuring about The Antiques Roadshow – you can play good games with the people in the background with that one.  Also, Elaine Paige on Sunday on Radio 2 – not TV but useful and fun (and Lucy made up a great game to play with that one too!) 

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

LUCY: Outside Family Food.

RUTH: The Perfect Sunday. 

FADE OUT

In 2007 Lucy Trodd and Ruth Bratt met on the improvised comedy circuit. Fate united them as founder members of a new group, Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, which has received rave reviews and a cult following. Lucy worked in advertising for seven years before her epiphany when her début play Burnt Salad was performed at Soho Theatre. Ruth was a guide for London Duck Tours which inspired her one-woman Edinburgh show And On Your Left…. The pair have recently been commissioned to write and perform their own series for BBC Radio 4. Trodd en Bratt say 'Well Done You' will be broadcast every Thursday from the 19th of June 2014.

[sundayopeninghours]

JONATHAN LARKIN

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

I love Sundays! And I often find they're good days to write too as there's not much else going on. Day of rest for most but I've spent many a Sunday slaving over a redraft!

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

I usually afford myself a slow start on a Sunday, even if I've got loads to do. I think it's built in to us to want to take it easier that day. So I get up at usual time (8.00) but do less for the first few hours. Scrambled eggs on toast, pot of fresh coffee and watch the Emmerdale Omnibus! Or if I'm feeling brave the Big Question but then I just get wound up and want to throw things at the TV...

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing? 

Final Draft every time.

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

The afore-mentioned soap omnibus or whatever I'm addicted to at the time. I've been known to watch about 5 episodes of Friday Night Lights on a Sunday. I once watched 8 episodes of Glee. 8! Felt like I was on drugs after that. Or cleaning around the flat with country music blasting. That often doesn't involve any actual cleaning though...

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words. 

Coffee, eggs, drama.

FADE OUT.

Jonathan Larkin is a British playwright and scriptwriter, best known for his play Paradise Bound and for being a regular part of the writing team of Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.

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CHRIS LUNT

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM 

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

I love Sundays. It’s the only day I really get to switch off. I have two small children, seven and three, so they’re pretty much the focus for the day. My partner works Saturdays, so Sunday is really the only day we have together as a family. I’ll try my best not to work on Sundays, but will do if I’ve a deadline looming or if I’ve fallen behind on what I’d scheduled to get done, but I try to only work for a couple of hours. 

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

The kids pretty much dictate what time we’re up on a Sunday, and that’s usually pretty early, if we’re lucky, seven-ish. We’ve just bought a puppy, Daley, so he has a say too. We live on a farm, so it’s nice to get out and about; the dog’s hopefully going to help with that. I do like a pub on a Sunday or having people over – if there’s a football match we might crank up the projector and have friends over to watch that. I certainly enjoy a nice Sunday roast – the nearest pub to us has recently started doing a carvery, so we’ve been going there. I’ll sometimes slow roast lamb on a bed of straw (one of the many bonuses of living on a farm is the home killed meat). Sundays is sometimes the day we take a trip to my mum and dads in Horwich, near Bolton – that always turns into a pretty epic drinking session. There’s definitely a theme forming now I think of it.  

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing?

I have an office in Colne and a home office at the house. The computer I have at home is a pretty awesome gaming rig PC. I’m a bit of a video game fanatic / collector. Here in the office I have a PS3, Xbox 360, arcade machine and an Atari 2600. It’s a wonder I get any work done. At home I have a PS4 and an Xbox One. Me and Will (my son) enjoy a blast on that, at the moment we’re playing Titanfall and the Lego Movie. If I do have to work on a Sunday then I use Final Draft. I’ve never used anything else.

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

I love MODERN FAMILY and can watch that over and over again. It’s genius. I’ve been enjoying introducing my son and daughter to classic movies and watching them for the first time through their eyes – no real surprises, INDIANA JONES, STAR WARS, JURASSIC PARK etc etc. If the weathers bad we do like to get the fire roaring and veg out in front of the box. 

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words. 

Family, friends, booze.

FADE OUT.

Chris Lunt has written since 2000, eventually turning professional in April of 2010. Since then he has won commissions from the BBC, ITV, Canal +, Red Productions, Drama Republic, Look Out Point, Slim Film and TV, Leopard Drama, Kindle Entertainment and Wall 2 Wall amongst others. His first drama serial, PREY, stars John Simm and will be broadcast on ITV during spring of 2014. 

[sundayopeninghours]

VICTORIA PILE

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM 

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

Depends what’s happening on Monday. IF we’re in post production – Sundays are a treat. No early school run, no deadlines. If we’re in writing hell, or pre-prod, Sundays are the same as all the other days; hideously pressurised but less productive because you resent not having a Sunday; I usually protest by spending hours browsing EBay or YouTube, and then sobbing in panic all evening.

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? E.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

See above. Proper Sundays often include meeting mates for dog walk and beer, late family lunch with extra Yorkshire puddings (I can manage 5) and local cinema or Netflix in evening.

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing?

Mac Book Air (11 inch so really light and portable (can even write on the loo if necessary) Final Draft or Word (for non-script)

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

No.

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words. 

Nothing on Monday. 

FADE OUT. 

Victoria Pile is a British comedy writer, director and producer, most noted as the creator of critically acclaimed Channel 4 comedy programmes, such as the sketch show Smack The Pony and the sitcoms Green Wing and Campus.

[sundayopeninghours]

ROBERT GOLDSBROUGH

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

Sundays are usually a working day, since deadlines often tend to fall on a Monday and notes often tend to come on a Friday.  There’s more of a relaxed atmosphere to it though since everyone else is off for the weekend.  It takes the pressure off a bit knowing there’s (probably) not going to be a phone call with a production crisis, or somebody expecting a reply to an urgent email.  So I do quite like Sundays in that respect.

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat? 

I take a slightly more laid-back approach on a Sunday, mainly because I don’t feel the need to check my emails quite so obsessively.  Besides that, it’s not really a day for routine.  You’re supposed to be lazy on Sundays, aren’t you? 

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing? I type on a Sony Vaio laptop and use Final Draft for scripts, Microsoft Word for outlines.  I’m not one of those people who needs all the latest Apple gadgets, apps and accessories at their fingertips – although I would quite like an iPad if anybody’s offering.  Lately I’ve found myself doing a lot of final read-throughs on Sundays, and for that you can’t beat a paper print-out and a red pen (I’m addicted to Pilot v5 extra fines). 

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

It probably depends on whatever I’m catching up on or going through on DVD.  At the moment it’s The West Wing – I’m on Season 3 and it’s a writing masterclass.  I’m trying to keep up with House of Cards but to be honest I’m not that hooked.  I’ve also been working my way through classic episodes of The Twilight Zone.  Sundays are definitely a boxset sort of day.

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

Nobody got fired.

FADE OUT. 

Robert Goldsbrough is a graduate of the BBC Writers Academy.  He has written for Casualty, Holby City and Doctors and is currently working on EastEnders.  He won the Sir Peter Ustinov Award at the International Emmys in 2011 and was named a Broadcast Hot Shot in 2013.

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GRAHAM LINEHAN

FADE IN.

Did you always want to be a writer?

No, I wanted to be a director, because that seemed to involve wearing a baseball cap in photographs while pointing at things. Writing was mysterious but I was pretty sure I could wear a baseball cap and point at things. I wanted to be a director right up until the moment I became a director, when I realised that all I wanted to do was write.

Could you talk briefly through your writing process? Do you fully develop ideas before hitting the page or do you dive right in with sketches and scenes and let the narrative come together that way?

First, I try to spend some time collecting vague ideas that don't necessarily need to be connected in any way--dialogue, scenes, storylines, concepts. I put the ideas onto cards and try to tease out connections. One will start getting 'hot'--in other words, it'll start nagging at me as a potential story. I'll start outlining it until there's enough there that I can feel confident in writing it. Then I hammer out a first draft, not paying too much attention to the quality until I get to 'The End'. Then I'll go back and work on it until I'm not embarrassed to hand it in.

After that, I give it to my script editor Andrew Ellard. His notes are often extremely honest and exhaustive and as a result the second draft is often much, much better than the first.

Where do you usually write?

At a treadmill desk in Norwich or a kitchen table in London.

Can you name a particular episode of a show that you’re most proud of? Is there any reason why it springs to mind?

Yes, the third episode of 'The Walshes'. We didn't have a lot of money, and one of our regulars had to leave to appear in a play, so we came up with the idea of the whole episode being about them trying to leave the house to go to dinner. A small nod to Seinfeld's Chinese Restaurant episode and cheap too! As for the actor, we put him in the walls looking for the source of a mysterious smell, so we were able to record all his dialogue the week beforehand. I like restrictions when you're writing--they stir up the imagination something terrible.

What are you currently watching on TV? What's your all time favourite TV show?

Just finished True Detective which I thought was astonishing. I'm tempted to say True Detective as my favourite too. But there are loads...Girls, Freaks and Geeks, Fawlty Towers, Seinfeld...too many to count.

Is there a TV show or project that you wish you could have been part of in a writing capacity?

Yes, Seinfeld. And I wish I'd been on the Simpsons around the Conan O'Brien era.

FADE OUT.

Graham Linehan is a comedy writer/director of Father Ted and Big Train (with Arthur Mathews), Black Books (with Dylan Moran), The IT Crowd (with himself) and Count Arthur Strong (with Steve Delaney). He also adapted The Ladykillers for the stage and is developing projects at Delightful Industries with Richard Boden.

[sundayopeninghours]

SARAH PAINTER

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

I love the idea of Sundays and I start each week with good intentions. I tell myself that I'm going to be really organised and productive throughout the week and then take a proper Day Of Relaxation on Sunday. The reality, however, is that if I'm working on a book I like to write every day, so I do that... And, I'm usually a bit, um, behind with some admin or promotion or freelance work, so I do a bit of that. And then there's getting laundry sorted for the coming week, running the Hoover around because the dust bunnies have reached the ceiling, ferrying my eldest to her myriad social engagements, etc, etc.

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

My children are excellent at sleeping in these days (Hallelujah), so I get to drink tea and eat toast in bed with a book, which is just about my favourite thing in the world. At least, that's the idea (see above). Still, whether I'm working on the laptop or reading, it still counts as a lie-in! I'm very lucky to live in a beautiful part of Scotland and I try to get out for a family walk on a Sunday, but we also love playing games and Sunday afternoon is perfect for that. We all love word games such as Scrabble, Boggle and Bananagrams, but have recently got into the more strategy-based games like Settlers of Catan. I'm very competitive, though, and have to work hard to hide it from the children. I probably fail...

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing?

Despite having a garden office (which I am thrilled with), I haven't entirely broken the habit of writing in bed. My in-laws bought me a adjustable bed desk, which helps with back ache, and Sundays are my prime opportunity for staying in bed and typing away on my Netbook.

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (or, really, anything by Joss Whedon) is a comfort-watch favourite and I've been enjoying re-watching them with my teenage daughter. Films which make me feel properly 'Sunday-ish', though, are the things I used to watch on weekend afternoons with my mum - Swing Time (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

Books, food, sleep.

FADE OUT.

Sarah Painter is a writer based in Scotland. She juggles writing books with motherhood and her demanding internet-appreciation schedule (AKA procrastination). Sarah is the author of The Language of Spells and The Secrets of Ghosts. She also gives writing advice at www.novelicious.com.

Right now, she’s probably drinking tea.

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MHAIRI MCFARLANE

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM 

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

I used to hate Sundays. They just seemed the depressing downer part of the weekend. Then after I graduated I worked in a deli and the owner told me he always used to hate Sundays, then learned to love them. He threw big Sunday lunches for friends and generally tried to ‘sparkle’ them up a bit with celebratory sort of events. I think that’s the key. If you decide Sunday is depressing, it will be. Back in the day I was always doing long distance boyfriend-visiting trips, and then Sunday was half great, half awful. The morning brunch out with newspapers would be great, then I’d climb in the car and do three hours on the motorway. I don’t much miss that, though it was great Thinking Time.

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat? 

Haha no! Oh no, this is when you’re supposed to say glamorous things about Bloody Mary brunches, isn’t it? Nope. There’s a nice pub near me called The Golden Fleece and I go there for Sunday lunch, and there’s one at a place called The Hand In Heart that’s very good too. I usually spend the day with my boyfriend Alex and my fluffy cat, Mr Miffy. Another favourite way of old to spend a Sunday was a box set session. I think The Sopranos was mostly done on Sundays.

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing?

I have a MacBook Air (I know! Cliched horror) so it’d be that. Preferably on a Caffe Nero table with large caffeinated beverage side car.

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

Ah, see Sopranos, as was – though hardly comfort. I’ve just got New Girl on advice from friends, so I can see that being good Sunday viewing. For utter absolute total comfort though, you need a big festive mulled wine and the BBC Pride & Prejudice. Done in one, the whole five hours, no slacking.

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

Cava Cat Sofa 

FADE OUT.

Mhairi McFarlane was born in Scotland and has been explaining how to pronounce her name ever since. (With a 'V', not an 'M'.) She is based in Nottingham where she used to be a local journalist and now she's a freelance writer and sometime-blogger, which we all know is code for messing about on Twitter. She is the author of You Had Me At Hello and more recently, Here's Looking At You.

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ANDREW ELLARD

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

Annoyingly, my Sundays have blended into the rest of the week. I'm more likely to work them than not. It's ended up a dumping ground for all the stuff I've not quite got done in the week, or else it's the final chance to write before a deadline. You know I'm unprecedentedly on top of things if I'm not working that day. The Sundays I'm not working are usually ones where I've made plans with friends.

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

I love the idea of a Sunday, and sometimes I'll have one on a Monday or Tuesday. If a meeting or job falls through, or I get done with something early, I allow myself to take a break and recharge wherever that day falls. Which usually means a movie I've been wanting to see for weeks, a little bit of gaming, and staring at my pile of 'to read' books and not quite picking one up.

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing?

I write on an iMac at a standing desk with a treadmill, a solution that has worked wonders on my back. Thoughts and ideas go into Simplenote, synched across phone, tablet, laptop and desktop - all Apple gear. I'm still using Final Draft, which I sort of hate, but once something's muscle memory to you anything else seems an impediment to getting started. (Though I have tinkered with Highland, and will again.) Outside the virtual, I have a thing for American legal pads and Muji pens.

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

The West Wing. Specifically the first four seasons, and super-specifically the first and last stories of season two. But I have to be careful when I watch it - if I'm in the middle of writing dialogue, rather than plotting, there's a chance I'll end up writing a pretty cod version of Sorkinese. Frustratingly, I pick up those flavours like food in a fridge. Shakespeare gives me the same problem, which is just ridiculous for anyone trying to have a conversation with me. 

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

Happens on Sunday.

FADE OUT.

Andrew Ellard is a writer. You won't yet have seen his first feature AfterDeath, or the sitcoms he has in development. You might have seen his competition-winning short Future.Inc. You've definitely seen some of the things he's script edited, shows like Miranda, The It Crowd, Red Dwarf, Cardinal Burns and Count Arthur Strong.

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BEDE BLAKE

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM 

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

Sundays scared the hell out of me as a kid. Distractions and normal telly suddenly stopped and I was left alone with the yawning chasm of my existence. I would make it worse by watching Unsolved Mysteries too. Robert Stack’s voice, which existed on the very plane of fear, endlessly failed to provide answers to chilling questions. I didn’t know until I saw Airplane! years later that he was actually hilarious.

I thought I’d grown out of that Sunday feeling. Now that I’m a big boy. But actually, when I think about it, it’s my least creative day. I not only never write on Sundays but I usually don’t even think about writing. 

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

Stuff I do on Sunday I don’t do on any other day: I close my computer. I read, usually non-fiction, usually books on architecture. I watch Formula One. I do big house stuff - construct and destroy. I stop for a beer in the afternoon. The greatest tasting beer ever. I do errand runs for little things and take my time. I get tired. A good tired.

Put another way, I stay as far the hell away from writing as I can possibly get. 

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing?

My mind box. Nothing leaves my brain on a Sunday. A note with a pencil is as far as it might get. But it’s always worse when it comes out, so I tend not to do that.

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

It used to be a Hitchcock film, or a Billy Wilder film, or the original Star Wars trilogy. Then I had a loud kid. Now it’s F1. I don’t watch any other sport, but F1 is my soap. It’s about as big a crapshoot as world federation wrestling, but the people involved are articulate and human, and life regularly gets in the way.

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

Afternoon spag bog.

FADE OUT.

Bede Blake is a writer of television comedy (Shelfstackers, Officially Special), drama (Hollyoaks, Holby City), and children’s television (House of Anubis, Strange Hill High, Hank Zipzer). On his mug it says ‘I’d rather be sailing’. Which is especially true on Sundays.

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JEREMY STRONG

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM.

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest?

I used to hate Sundays as a child. My family were not churchgoers, (Allelujah! Thank the Lord), and we always had Sunday roast, so definitely a routine when I was a child. That was abandoned the moment I left home. Sunday was such a dull, dull day. Now that I am 63 and almost grown up all my days tend to revolve around writing or associated tasks and socialising.

Writing has no timetable for me, neither daily nor weekly. If I want to write on a Sunday I do and if I don’t I don’t. The names of days are not my boss – I am.

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

I would like to say that we always spend most of Sunday in bed and treat each other to taking it in turns to make tea, coffee, breakfast and so on – but we don’t. Both of us are of pensionable age and neither of us have the discipline of regular hours to work. Consequently we fritter our lives away doing what we feel like doing when we feel like it. It’s all rather pleasant really and we always seem to busy, at least Gillie always seems to be busy; I just hide in corners and hope she doesn’t notice I’m secretly watching crap tv. 

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing? 

I use a MacBook – always have, always will (probably). Do they have MacBooks in heaven? Are MacBooks heaven? When I write freehand I use a Lamy or a uniball eye, and always black ink. I doodle a lot. I think I must like wasting time. I don’t have special writing tools just for Sundays. One day is much the same as another. As for software it’s the sofa for me, if possible, and a bit of light snoring.

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

No – but I have a lot of ‘go to’ music – Schubert late piano sonatas or the C major quintet, Beethoven late piano sonatas and quartets, Chopin Nocturnes, Bach, Sibelius, Tallis’s Spem in Alium. Keith Jarrett’s ‘Jasmine’, ‘Facing You’ or ‘Melody at Night’. But then again, I don’t reserve anything just for Sunday. All these questions are making me wonder if I’m missing out on something. I suppose that if you are tied to a five or six day week then Sundays become special. The moment I left teaching and took up writing full time the five or six day week became an irrelevance. 

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

Gillie, me, bed.  

FADE OUT.

Jeremy Strong is an acclaimed children's author who has published 77 novels including the Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog and Cartoon Kid series. He left teaching in 1991 and has been writing full time ever since. 

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SARA PASCOE

INT/EXT. SUNDAY. 10AM

How do you feel about Sundays? Do you dread them or love them? Are Sundays part of your writing week or are they a day of rest? 

I have to write when there are hours spare in the day. And usually I have a gig on a Sunday evening. So all my daytimes blur, and weekends fall accidentally when a night contains no show (so no travelling or early evening anxiety). Sunday can be a very productive day, and be a springboard of preparation for the rest of the week.

Do you have any particular routines or traditions on Sundays? If so, would you share a little detail? e.g. Do you get up at a different time to usual, spend the day with certain people, or have a regular Sunday meal or place to eat?

I don’t have any routines. I am wary and suspicious of them, as they can strengthen ideas of ‘this is when/where/how I can be creative’ and this is when/where/how I cannot’. I enjoy a Sunday roast, but I’m a vegan, so it's a different affair to most peoples. A real heap of roast potatoes, enough to last several days.

One of the reasons I love and fear stand up is that it does not allow for routines, traditions or social life...you have to follow your job and grab pleasures accidentally.

What is your hardware/software of choice for (Sunday) writing?

I usually write pen on paper first. One of the great things about always feeling too busy to write is that the notes and ideas build up during ‘non-writing hours’ and then when I finally have a couple of hours at a computer the sentences burst out with relief. So writing never feels a struggle.

Having said that, I have never spent more than 2 hours at a computer attempting work. There is a certain amount of time I can be successfully creative in a day, and I trust that my brain is ticking along, solving problems and finding patterns the rest of the time. 

Do you have a ‘go to’ film or TV show that you can always rely on for Sunday comfort?

On a great day I would say a Woody Allen film. an unplanned, “let’s NOT do what we were supposed to” but instead get pissed and watch a great movie.  

Describe your perfect Sunday in three words.

Just. Another. Day. 

FADE OUT.

Sara Pascoe is a stand up comedian who has appeared on Live at The Apollo and QI, an actor on Twenty Twelve, Campus and The Thick of IT and is currently writing a play and a novel.