 His first professional script writing credit came when he wrote the radio drama The Long Stairs , broadcast by the BBC on 1 March 1950 and based on an historical mining disaster on the Isle of Man . In 1951 he was recruited as one of the first staff writers to be employed by BBC Television ; before he started working for the BBC , Kneale had never seen any television . Kneale was initially a general @-@ purpose writer , working on adaptations of books and stage plays and even writing material for light entertainment and children 's programmes . The following year , Michael Barry became the Head of Drama at BBC Television , and spent his entire first year 's script budget of £ 250 to hire Kneale as a full @-@ time writer for the drama department . Kneale 's first credited role in adult television drama was providing " additional dialogue " for the play Arrow to the Heart , broadcast on 20 July 1952 . This play was adapted and directed by the Austrian television director Rudolph Cartier , who had also joined the staff of the BBC drama department in 1952 . It was the beginning of a successful working relationship between the pair , that would lead to some of Kneale 's best known work . 
