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Danny Brocklehurst (born June 1971) is an English screenwriter, playwright, and former journalist. He has won both BAFTA and Royal Television Society writing awards. He was featured in the writers' section of Broadcast magazine's Hot 100 in 2007. His 2024 Netflix drama Fool Me Once is the sixth most successful Netflix show of all time. In November 2024, The Hollywood Reporter named him as one of their "'top 50 most powerful producers".

In 2024, Brocklehurst was included in the Radio Times 100 list of the most powerful people in British television.

Early life

Brocklehurst was born in Hyde, Cheshire, in June 1971. He grew up in a working-class home and had several jobs before entering the media. From 1993, he worked as a journalist for several years, freelancing for The Guardian, City Life, and Manchester Evening News while serving as a senior feature writer for The Big Issue.

He is related to the paralympian Sarah Storey.

Writing

Television work

Brocklehurst left journalism to become a full-time screenwriter. He cited Tony Marchant, Jimmy McGovern, and Alan Bleasdale as his writing inspirations. In a Creative Times feature in 2010, he wrote that Our Friends in the North was his favourite drama of all time. He wrote several episodes of the BAFTA award-winning series Clocking Off, as well as the two-part BBC film The Stretford Wives. With Shameless, he won a BAFTA for series one, co-wrote series two with Paul Abbott and became lead writer on series three. He left prior to the fourth series.

His series Sorted, a BBC postal drama starring Hugo Speer, aired in 2006. In 2007, Brocklehurst wrote a film about the Fathers4Justice campaign for producers Harbour Pictures. His Company Pictures produced four-part ITV drama, Talk To Me, starring Max Beesley, Laura Fraser, Adrian Bower, Kate Ashfield and Emma Pierson.

He has written episodes of both Jimmy McGovern's The Street and crime drama Accused for BBC One. In 2011 he wrote a three-part BBC drama, Exile, starring John Simm and Jim Broadbent. It received an average of 5.5 million viewers and an audience appreciation score of 90%.

In 2011 it was announced that Brocklehurst would write a new HBO drama, Dirty, with Andrea Arnold attached to direct. This project was subsequently developed with Sharon Horgan and Amazon. In August 2013, BBC One announced a new drama, Ordinary Lies, written by Brocklehurst.

The Driver, starring David Morrissey was announced in January 2014, a three-part drama about a taxi driver who takes a job driving for a criminal. Shown on BBC One, it co-starred Ian Hart, Claudie Blakely, and Colm Meaney. It was co-created by Jim Poyser and made by Red Productions and Highfield Pictures. In January 2015, US network Showtime announced they were developing a remake of the drama.

In February 2014, HBO announced a project called A Teacher, which would be co-written by Brocklehurst and Hannah Fidell, and executive produced by Mark Duplass. The show, a drama about a teacher/student relationship, based on the film of the same name, did not get made by HBO but was picked up by FX. In 2017 Netflix made Safe starring Michael C. Hall, written by Brocklehurst and Harlan Coben.

Come Home, a three-part BBC drama, aired in April 2018, starring Christopher Eccleston and Paula Malcomson. The Stranger, also co-written with Coben, debuted on Netflix in January 2020, starring Richard Armitage, Stephen Rea and Jennifer Saunders. The first series of Brassic premiered on Sky in 2019 and was recommissioned for five additional series. It is Sky's most successful comedy since 2012.

His Netflix series Stay Close was the highest rated UK series of 2022.

In May 2022, the BBC and STAN commissioned a new series created by Brocklehurst, Ten Pound Poms, a drama about the British citizens who migrated to Australia after the Second World War, with filming commencing in Australia shortly after. Ten Pound Poms was the highest rating new BBC drama of 2023.

In 2024, his drama Fool Me Once became a smash Netflix hit. The series was number one in 75 countries and is currently the 6th most successful English language Netflix show of all time.

Parish, the American version of his hit UK show The Driver aired on AMC in 2024, starring Giancarlo Esposito.

Brocklehurst was named in the Radio Times Top 100 in 2024, of most influential people in television.

Film

In film, he adapted the Whitbread nominee novel Buddha Da (as Jimmy Buddha); and wrote The Railway Children Return for Studio Canal, a sequel to the 1970 film, The Railway Children, itself based on the E. Nesbit novel.

Theatre

Brocklehurst has written three award-winning plays, My Eight Times Table, Nobody and Loaded (transferred to Radio Four), as well being story adviser and book co-writer of the West End (and national touring) musical Never Forget. His play Casual Ties was a Royal Exchange hit in 2014. It is a dissection of modern relationships.

Radio

Brocklehurst has written extensively for radio. His detective series Stone for Radio 4 is in its ninth series. It stars Hugo Speer as Detective Inspector John Stone and every episode features a morally complex crime. It has been described as "gritty" (The Guardian), "hard hitting" (The Times), and "realistic in a way radio drama rarely is" (The Observer).

He wrote a play about Margaret Thatcher's mutually assured destruction policy in the 1980s, The End of The World, a thriller about a man who seems to have ceased to exist, Nobody, an Australian set examination of greed, Loaded and a single drama about an eighty-year-old woman who admits to a series of brutal murders, Mary Shane.

He has appeared as a regular commentator on Radio 4 and 5Live.

Brocklehurst wrote the podcast Ecstasy: The Battle Of Rave that features David Morrissey, Monica Dolan, Ian Hart, Meera Syal and Ade Edmondson. It is half drama, half documentary.

Music

In 2013, Brocklehurst co-wrote the Mint Royale song "Ring".

Filmography

Awards

BAFTA

BAFTA TV Award

In 2011 he was nominated for three Writers Guild Awards for Exile and Accused and Brassic, for which he won.

Royal Television Society

RTS Television Award

References

1. O'Connell, Mikey (24 October 2024). "The 50 Most Powerful TV Producers of 2024". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
2. ^ Hibbs, James (7 April 2024). "Radio Times TV 100 – the full list". RadioTimes.com.
3. Scullard, Vickie (10 March 2019). "From Tameside College to Netflix - how Danny Brocklehurst conquered television". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
4. "Danny Brocklehurst". unitedagents.co.uk. United Agents. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
5. Brown, Nancy (3 January 2024). "Fool Me Once master scribe Danny Brocklehurst's TV dramas listed – from No Return and Brassic to Clocking Off". entertainmentdaily.com. Entertainment Daily. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
6. "Sorted's a very special delivery". Manchester Evening News. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
7. Lever, Laura (5 December 2018). "BAFTA and International Emmy winning screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst on writing for television". aah-magazine.co.uk. Aah Magazine. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
8. "Sorted". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
9. "Shameless Danny is set for silver screen". Manchester Evening News. 19 October 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
10. Hall, Julian (10 June 2007). "How we met: Danny Brocklehurst and Max Beesley". Independent. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
11. Hopewell, John (8 October 2021). "ITV, Red Production Company's 'No Return' – Broken Down by Creator Danny Brocklehurst (Exclusive)". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
12. "Our friend in the North West: Jimmy McGovern". rts.org.uk. Royal Television Society. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
13. Raphael, Amy (18 April 2011). "Paul Abbott's Exile: The prodigal returns". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
14. Wallenstein, Andrew (1 June 2011). "HBO Getting Dirty with Danny Brocklehurst". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
15. White, Peter (4 December 2018). "Sharon Horgan Developing Amazon Drama 'Dirty' With 'Peaky Blinders' Producer Caryn Mandabach & Danny Brocklehurst". Deadline Hollywood. Deadline. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
16. Fitzpatrick, Katie (3 November 2015). "Ordinary Lies writer Danny Brocklehurst has penned a new drama to be filmed in Manchester". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
17. Lazarus, Susanna (10 January 2014). "David Morrissey to star in new BBC1 drama The Driver". radiotimes.com. Radio Times. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
18. Andreeva, Nellie (29 January 2015). "Showtime To Adapt U.K. Mini 'The Driver' As Drama Series Starring David Morrissey". Deadline Hollywood. Deadline. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
19. Goldberg, Leslie (30 July 2019). "Kate Mara, Nick Robinson to Topline Limited Series 'A Teacher' at FX". hollywoodreporter.com. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
20. Tartaglione, Nancy (11 July 2017). "Michael C Hall To Play It 'Safe' In Netflix, Canal+ Drama From Harlan Coben". Deadline. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
21. Clarke, Stewart (11 July 2017). "Netflix, Canal+ Order Harlan Coben Series With 'Dexter' Star Michael C. Hall". Variety. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
22. Dowell, Ben (4 December 2018). "Come Home writer reveals why he never wanted a series two: "Some stories carry on, but some stories should just end"". radiotimes.com. Radio Times. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
23. White, Peter (28 January 2019). "Richard Armitage To Star In Netflix Thriller 'The Stranger' With Harlan Coben & 'Safe' Team". Deadline Hollywood. Deadline. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
24. Griffin, Susan (2 September 2019). "Danny Brocklehurst: Steering the script". bigissuenorth.com. Big Issue North. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
25. Richardson, Jay (6 April 2023). "Sky recommissions Brassic and Rob & Romesh Vs for 6th series". comedy.co.uk. British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
26. "Stay Close takes #1 on Netflix Top 10 English TV". advanced-television.com. Advanced Television. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
27. "Ten Pound Poms cast and writer Danny Brocklehurst reveal all about the new BBC period drama". bbc.com. BBC. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
28. Ramachandran, Naman (6 May 2021). "'The Railway Children,' All-Time U.K. Children's Classic, Gets Sequel From Studiocanal". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
29. Irabor, Gloria (2 January 2024). "What else has Danny Brocklehurst written?". abtc.ng. AB TC. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
30. Sheridan, Rachel. "Never Forget". britishtheatreguide.info. British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
31. Clark, Alex (26 August 2007). "Hell, you've got to love 'em". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
32. "Stone". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
33. "The End of the World". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
34. "Mary Shane". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
35. Sawyer, Miranda (19 September 2020). "Ecstasy: The Battle of Rave review – top one, nice one, sorted". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
36. "Mint Royale on sampling, software and Singin' In The Rain". musicradar.com. Music Radar. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
37. "BBC One announces Ten Pound Poms, a new original drama series from Danny Brocklehurst". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
38. "Writers' Guild Awards shortlists announced". www.writersguild.org.uk. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2022.

External links

• Danny Brocklehurst at IMDb

• 1971 births
• Living people
• 21st-century English screenwriters
• BAFTA winners (people)
• English male television writers
• English male dramatists and playwrights
• English male screenwriters
• English screenwriters
• English television writers
• People from Hyde, Greater Manchester
• Television show creators