cleared for only, say, two UK television transmissions, or for only, say, two years, then that will be a major stumbling-block to your distribution deal.)

2. Who is the director?

3. Who is the writer?

4. Who is in it?

5. What is your budget? What percentage of it have you already raised elsewhere?

6. Who are the partners with whom you have done deals so far, and what are those deals?

If you can give answers to questions of this kind that get your chosen distributor excited, it may be possible to get the balance of the budget that you still need in the form of an advance from the distributor (on terms which will include repayment of that advance as a first charge on the producer's - your - share of the programme's future income). And, with or without an advance, it may be possible to get the distributor to agree to take your programme out into the world.