Jay Ross

Jay is a drama and comedy screenwriter based in Manchester. His work draws on personal experience of PTSD, and a diverse extended family full of characters and conflict.

Working as a DJ for many years, music has a huge influence on his writing. He has sound-to-colour synaesthesia, which acts like a superpower for capturing tone. A murder in the club where he was playing was the catalyst for him to chase after his dream of becoming a screenwriter.

After being awarded a bursary to NFTS, Peter Ansorge, former head of Channel 4 drama, called Jay’s noir script No Ordinary Love “a powerful crime drama with the potential to return” and said he “thoroughly recommends Jay as a new writing talent”.

No Ordinary Love placed in the top 1% of a record 5734 submissions to the 2025 BBC Open Call this summer, and he has been shortlisted for the 2025 Channel 4 New Writers North Award. He won The Kickoff’s football comedy screenwriting competition, and was commissioned to write further episodes.

He loves to create work that makes you belly laugh, then punches you in the gut. Because that’s how life is. His work explores themes of social justice, mental health, and the power of collaboration. In the age of the individual, Jay wants to write stories that bring people together.