Graham Clegg has particular reason to be thrilled about his nomination for a Gemini in the best writing in a dramatic series category. Clegg, now an executive story editor on Keatley MacLeod/aac’s Cold Squad, says the nomination for his first Traders script is exciting enough on its own, but especially so because of the company he is now keeping.

‘I’m nominated alongside my mentor Peter Mitchell, who I worked with on Traders and now on Cold Squad, my friend Julie Lacey and David Sutherland, who I went to university with. It’s an exciting group to be nominated with.’

Clegg came to aac’s Traders series as a story department intern in the third season before being hired on as story editor in the fourth season by incoming exec producer Mitchell, and eventually becoming senior story editor in the fifth season.

‘Peter was hired to run the show at the end of the third season and he gave that show a second wind. Peter is always wanting to give someone a break. He doesn’t just hand it out left, right and centre, but he’s quite big on getting people who are on the cusp of getting work [and taking them on as employees]. It’s quite a healthy cycle to undertake.’

Clegg’s introduction to dramatic tv series writing came after a sojourn in l.a. developing a feature screenplay resulted in his writing some scripts for the animated Nelvana show Stickin’ Around.

‘The animation writing came out of left field – I never pictured that I’d do any animation writing,’ says Clegg. ‘It was a blast because you don’t have to worry about budget with animation – if you want to crash the zeppelin you crash the zeppelin. It’s quite a free-spirited writing experience.’

Back in his home town and craving dramatic series experience, Clegg approached then Traders exec producer Hart Hansen, and sat him down for a 20-minute coffee to pick his brains on what it takes to get into dramatic series writing in Canada. That 20-minute coffee stretched into a two-hour conversation and eventually resulted in the Traders internship, an experience he describes as ‘like being paid to go to grad school.’

‘It was an opportunity I had not had until then. Considering the volume of writing that goes through those story departments, the amount of craft you’re able to witness is pretty invaluable.’

Clegg’s ambitions haven’t been satisfied yet. His feature film script Dirty Little Secrets, about two small-town men who commit a murder in the hope of adding excitement to their lives, has been optioned by aac, with Clegg attached as director. It’s slated to go before the cameras sometime in 2001. *