Hot Shots 2024: Yemi Oyefuwa

Aquick glance at Yemi Oyefuwa’s recent writers’ room credits tells you all you need to know about her stratospheric rise: Boarders and Everything I Know About Love for the BBC; Smothered for Sky; Tell Me Everything for ITVX and Netflix’s smash hit Fool Me Once.

Then there’s her original Sky Comedy Showcase short, Six Foot Something, and her Bafta nomination for one of the two episodes she wrote for Adjani Salmon’s acclaimed BBC3 comedy Dreaming Whilst Black.

Oyefuwa’s canny ability to get on a creator’s wavelength in the writers’ room did not go unnoticed on Daniel Lawrence Taylor’s BBC3 comedy-drama Boarders. Executive producer Maddie Sinclair marvels at how she “fully embraced Daniel’s vision” while bringing her own unique voice to her script for episode five of the Studio Lambert comedydrama’s first series.

“Yemi’s episode had her distinctive flair for dialogue and humour running through it – but also her brilliantly strong handle on story and structure,” Sinclair says.

“She is a thoughtful writer – a passionate, authentic storyteller, brimming with wonderful ideas, who will interrogate the truth of characters and storylines, always to the benefit of the drama. Her warmth, positivity and humour make her a joy to be around.”

Oyefuwa’s agent Cynthia Okoye points to her skill at supporting other writers and building a collaborative environment. “As a young black woman, Yemi has had to overcome obstacles to break through and earn her space,” Okoye says. “While blazing a trail with her own original work, she is a role model and mentor, having provided development services, feedback and advice to innumerable early-career writers.”

BBC Studios, Eleven Film and Quay Street are among those developing projects with Yemi.