The letter continues to look to the BBC and its “flagship” shows, like Silent Witness and Doctor Who, both of which have scarcely employed female writers.

“Flagship shows like the BBC’s Silent Witness, [have] employed only five female writers during its 20-year run. Or Doctor Who, which managed to go five series without an episode written by a woman,” it uses as examples.

Exploring why there’s such a lack of female writing talent being developed, the letter theoretically questions if there’s a correlation between lower ratings and female writing, and if that could be the reason. But, of course, it isn’t.

The letter openly queries: “So, maybe it’s about the ratings? Perhaps dramas written by women simply don’t put bums on seats?

“If anyone truly believes that, we have three words for you: Call The Midwife.”

Bringing the well made point home, it continues with some unarguable facts: “This ratings behemoth has a female showrunner, the mighty Heidi Thomas, and a female writing team. For the past two years it has won the Christmas Day ratings battle, with 10 million viewers tuning in to have their hearts warmed by something other than post-turkey heartburn. And that isn’t just a Christmas miracle.

“The show hit the ground running, with its first series averaging more than 10 million per episode and it has maintained that audience across another six series. Surely you commissioners pray for that kind of audience loyalty?”

The letter praises ITV for making “female characters front and centre” in some of new dramas being launched this year and agrees that “it is great to see that women’s stories are now being told.”

But it’s clear that the fact remains: “The gap between being commissioned and being produced seems disproportionately large when it comes to women’s work. And we’d really love to know why.

“And this goes double for our BAME colleagues, who also seem to be consistently conspicuous by their absence.

“So, we pose the question again. Why are you not making drama by female writers?

“Come on, tell us the truth. We can take it. We look forward to hearing from you.”

Female TV writers voice their “fury” over lack of opportunity in powerful open letter