writing
I’ve wanted to be a writer since in primary school we were tasked with writing a story about something that had recently happened to us, and my tale of my mum starting Weightwatchers and instructing me not to tell anyone particularly tickled my teacher. From there I was always writing stories, which progressed to plays when I realised I particularly enjoyed creating dialogue and making people do daft stuff on stage.
EARLY DAYS
As a student I became very involved in theatre and new writing, including being a member of the executive committee for Freshblood Theatre at the University of Warwick.
In 2004 I entered the BBC Talent competition for comedy writers, reaching the shortlist of eight out of over four thousand scripts. After some development and a read through in front of a lovely audience, my original script Marigold was selected as the winner. It was then made into a pilot starring Selina Griffiths and Angus Deayton, which aired on BBC Three.
(Fun fact, a young Andrew Garfield was originally cast in the show, but then he got his returning role on Sugar Rush, so he did that instead. Fair enough.)
It was a slightly twisted take on a traditional domestic sitcom, where delusional matriarch Marigold attempts to bring her disinterested family together via a delightful/disastrous meal. You can read that script here, if you like
working in tv
One of the lovely audience members at the read through for Marigold was the incredible Susan Nickson who invited me to shadow on season five of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, participating in story lining the series and writing the episode War, Hurrrgh! which is on the good old iPlayer here
From here I joined the writing team of My Family from series seven to eleven. This involved contributing to nearly 40 episodes, including brain storming, plotting and finessing. I also had a solo writing credit for two episodes, It’s Training Men and Accusin’ Susan
I was then delighted to return to Two Pints as joint co-writer and show runner with David Cantor. Together we wrote all six episodes of series nine, introducing new characters and maintaining the popular established lewdness level. You can see that series in this general vicinity
In the years following this I worked with a range of great production companies, with options and commissions on several scripts, before deciding to take a break and focus on more supportive aspects of writing, which is covered in the other areas of this website. I’ve recently been quietly putting together a raft of new projects which no one has really seen yet, but hopefully they will soon.
Overall I’m a passionate writer and collaborator who feels comfortable in a writer’s room environment, loves pitching a joke, exploring the emotional opportunities of a story and helping to make a script as strong as possible.
My style often involves subverting something familiar, but I also like to explore all kinds of stories, from high concept antics to intimate and emotional ideas across different mediums. And while much of my work is in comedy I enjoy a dramatic dabble now and then. Don’t we all?