AN award-winning TV scriptwriter shared the secrets of her success during a visit to Greenock.

Kate Davidson, who has written gripping plots for programmes including Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks and BBC One’s medical drama Holby City, was at Central Library to talk about her fascinating career and to encourage more people to take up creative writing.

She said: “It’s always quite a rollercoaster of a job — it’s really exciting.

“I work with very smart, intelligent people and television is a fun medium to write for.

“There is a lot of pressure, but it’s a job I love.”

Kate, who is currently working on a teen drama that Kindle are producing, hopes to use her experiences to encourage others to put pen to paper.

She said: “I started writing plays when I was younger.

“I then studied drama and theatre at university and then I set up a theatre company.

“After that I did a masters in scriptwriting before I started working on Hollyoaks, which was quite an exciting challenge.

“Hollyoaks do a very good job on their more topical storylines. They do a lot of research and think about how to make them true to life.

“They are aware of their young audience and their duty of care.”

Kate’s talk, which was organised as part of Book Week Scotland, left her local audience inspired.

Iris Potter, who attended the free event with her dad Stewart, said it has motivated her to pick up a pen.

She said; “It was really interesting.

“I have a lot of personal stories I would like to write about and Kate gave us some pointers about how to start a story, how to structure it and how to finish it.

“She also spoke about how you cut a long story down.

“I really enjoyed it and it was great to see someone who has made it to the top of their profession taking the time to come to Inverclyde and speak to the public.”

David Miles-Hanschell added: “I thought it was excellent. People here today will have taken a lot away from Kate’s visit.”