Lorne Jackson meets the man responsible for finding the next generation of star writers for the BBC.

In this world of walls, you will find many gatekeepers.

There are farmers, for instance, who wield angry pitchforks while barking at over-eager ramblers: “Get orf my land!”

Then there are bouncers and security guards. Burly blokes who fend off usurpers with no greater weapon than a steely glare.

Paul Ashton is also a gatekeeper.

Though he doesn’t use pitchforks or glares to deflect trespassers who would dare enter his territory.

Instead, he wields his ability to peruse a work of prose.

Ashton has a talent for spotting talent.

He is employed to discover dazzling new scriptwriters. And deflect those who don’t make the grade.

As Development Producer at the BBC Writers room, he is charged with finding and nurturing new authors in the fields of drama, comedy and children’s programmes.

Paul will be giving a talk at this year’s Birmingham Book Festival, which starts today, explaining exactly what the BBC is looking for.

But what makes him such an expert on sizzling scripts?

“Well, I’ve done a little bit of writing, myself,” he says.

“I also started in the theatre as a director, then moved across into working with new writers.

“So that meant I was reading a lot of scripts at an early stage. Then I sort of spread out into film and television and radio.

“Now, most of my time is spent reading other people’s work, and trying to judge what kind of potential they have. What their strong points are. Where the weaknesses lie.”

Does he always read an entire script? Or are some so dire, he feels a painful obligation to rip them into teeny-tiny shreds, before feeding to a passing goat?

“When a script comes to me, I’ll be expected to read it to the very end, because that’s a script that has already been recommended,” he explains.

“Before a piece of work even reaches me, it will have been studied by a team of other readers, who look at unsolicited material that just rolls up at any time.

“Or they may be looking at scripts that have been sent in for a competition.

“This team will have read the first 10 or 15 pages of every script they get. Then, on the basis of that, it’s decided whether it goes to the next stage, where I’ll give it a full read.