One of the odd things about writing for radio is that you never know when a play is going to be repeated. (Playwrights grumble a bit about this but, to be honest, there's so much content that it's obviously impossible to inform everyone). The happiest moment is when someone emails to say that they enjoyed listening to a play which you didn't even know was on.
Last night, I got such an email from a pal about Albion Street, the short play I wrote about the independence debate in Scotland that was first broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in February.
When I tell people a play of mine is being repeated the most common response is: ooh, that will mean a nice repeat fee, eh? This makes me laugh. I would have to check my contract but I believe the broadcaster gets two repeats before any new 'fee' is issued. And it's rare for a radio drama to get more than two repeats...
No, the truth is that the real positive about a repeat is that more folk can listen to your play. Downloads and iPlayer have had a massive (and positive) effect on how we listen to radio and have changed it forever.
But there's still nothing quite like a repeat.
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