Liverpool-based writer Joanne Sherryden has won £4,000 from the BBC to develop comedy scripts.

She is the second winner of the bursary set up to nurture new comedy in the north of England, and becomes the second writer in residence at the corporation's Manchester base.

Last year, the prize and the job went to stand-up Tony Burgess, who went on to write the BBC Three comedy 10:96 and contribute to the Johnny Vegas sitcom Ideal

Sherryden said: 'I'm delighted to have won this award although in accepting it the pressure's now on to come up with some funnies.

'Fortunately, friends and family have reassured me, that I shouldn't worry about the 'not being that funny' thing, as I was obviously only chosen because I'm a lady, so expectations will be understandably low.

'I think it's fantastic the BBC is recognising there is a huge array of talent in the north of England just waiting to be tapped into."

Since graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University with a degree in theatre arts in 1994, Joanne has written for - and appeared in - the BBC1 drama Nice Guy Eddie. She also wrote a play called Wannabe for the Unity Theatre in Liverpool, which was named the best play of 2001 by the Liverpool Daily Post.

She is also a previous winner of BBC's Two-Timing sitcom competition for which she had to write a half-hour comedy two-hander for television or radio.

Kenton Allen, the BBC's editor of comedy, said: 'It's a long time since we've had a comedy based in Liverpool on our screens and I really hope Joanne can help us find the show that builds on the city's fantastic comic heritage.

'We were very impressed with the strength and depth of all of this year's applicants but Joanne really stood out as an original voice.'