BBC and National Theatre Wales writing winner is Rhiannon Boyle

Rhiannon Boyle, receiving her award, said she was excited about the next 12 months

Rhiannon Boyle is to be the first Wales Writer in Residence, backed by the BBC and National Theatre Wales.

Her winning script will be turned into a drama for BBC Radio 4 or BBC Sounds, as well as receiving a £12,000 bursary and opportunities with the BBC and National Theatre Wales (NTW).

Scripts by eight writers were considered by judges for the inaugural award, presented in Cardiff.

Keeping Faith writer Matthew Hall was among those who selected the winner.

Ms Boyle, from Cardiff, who also writes a blog, The Daily Boyle, was presented with the award at the Sherman Theatre.

Her script Impacted tells the story of Alys, a teacher in a pupil referral unit who develops a complicated relationship with a "celibate" paedophile.

Ms Boyle, a Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama graduate in acting, turned to writing for theatre and screen in 2007.

She said: "It really means so much and I honestly can't thank you enough.

"I have been writing for a good few years now and it is often hard to keep going, and to see the light at the end for the tunnels. I am really excited to see what the next 12 months might bring."

The eight shortlisted scripts were:

• Forget Her Not by Rhys J Edwards

• Canceltown by Jesse Schwenk

• Incarnate by Matthew Trevannion

• No Words by Tess Berry-Hart

• A Better Land by Catherine Dyson

• Moonlight Grey by Rick Allden

• Impacted by Rhiannon Boyle

• Heart Full by Matthew Ingram

'Raring to go'

Ms Boyle told BBC Wales: "I think it's an exciting time for Wales with the new studios and programmes like Keeping Faith, and I'm really excited to be working with Matthew Hall as my mentor, it's a dream come true."

She said she came from a bilingual family - and this was reflected in her own home now.

"I'm interested in portraying that side of Wales, sort of Wenglish, the mixed up side," she said.

"A lot of time you see things written purely in Welsh or purely in English. It would be nice to see more things that are mixed. I think Roger Williams's Bang (on S4C) is a good example of that."

She said she wants to be thrown into some storyline teams and was "raring to go".

"I'm just looking forward to getting out of the house - most of my time when I'm writing it's just me and the dog."

Kully Thiarai, artistic director of NTW said Ms Boyle's script was "rich with story and character and tackled a difficult subject in surprising ways".

BBC Cymru Wales director Rhodri Talfan Davies added: "BBC Wales, BBC Writersroom Wales and NTW are determined to develop the next generation of Welsh writers and this year's competition has once again demonstrated the phenomenal natural talent that exists here in Wales."

In a successful 24 hours for Welsh writing, the news follows Monday's announcement that Jo Lloyd had won this year's BBC Short Story Award.