Ashley Pharoah
Encyclopedia
Ashley Pharoah is a British Television writer, co-creator of the successful drama series Life on Mars
, which began on BBC One
in 2006.
Pharoah was born in Southampton
attended Waycroft Junior School in Stockwood
and continued at Queen Elizabeth's Hospital
, a direct grant grammar school, in Bristol
.
After studying at the University Of Sussex and the National Film and Television School
in Beaconsfield
in the 1980s, Pharoah played rugby for Wimbledon and began his television writing career on the BBC soap opera EastEnders
in 1991, on which he worked for four years and where he met co-writer Matthew Graham
. He went on in 1994 – 1995 to contribute five episodes to the popular BBC One drama series Casualty and four episodes to Silent Witness
(1996).
For ITV
he created the long-running series Where the Heart Is
, for which he wrote episodes from 1997 to 2000, and contributed to the BBC One TV programme Down to Earth
in 2001. Among other work in the early 2000s he scripted an adaptation of Tom Brown's Schooldays
, starring Stephen Fry
, for the ITV1
network in 2005.
Meanwhile Pharoah, Matthew Graham and veteran Eastenders writer Tony Jordan
spent years co-creating Life on Mars, which was first shown in 2006, and Pharoah contributed episodes to both series of the acclaimed show. Other work around this time included creating the series Wild at Heart
(2006 – present) for Company Pictures
and adapting Under the Greenwood Tree
for Ecosse Films
.
In 2006 he formed Monastic Productions with Matthew Graham
. Monastic Productions are involved in the Life on Mars
spin-off Ashes to Ashes
and co-produced Bonekickers
, a 6-part drama series about archaeology, set in Bath. Both series are productions for BBC One. He has won two International Emmys for "Life On Mars", a series which was remade for ABC in America, starring Harvey Keitel. In 2010 Pharoah adapted "Case Histories", the novel by Kate Atkinson, for the BBC. It stars Jason Isaacs and was a co-production between Monastic Productions and Ruby Television.
In February 2011 Pharoah was made an Honorary Fellow of the National Film and Television School
; this is awarded "in recognition of outstanding contribution to the British film and television industry". Jonathan Ross
also received this fellowship at the same graduation ceremony.
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
, which began on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in 2006.
Pharoah was born in Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
attended Waycroft Junior School in Stockwood
Stockwood
Stockwood is a residential area and council ward in south Bristol, between Whitchurch and Brislington.It is served by bus routes, 54, 54A, 57 and A4....
and continued at Queen Elizabeth's Hospital
Queen Elizabeth's Hospital
Queen Elizabeth's Hospital is an independent school for boys in Clifton, Bristol, England founded in 1586. Stephen Holliday has served as Headmaster since 2000, having succeeded Dr Richard Gliddon...
, a direct grant grammar school, in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
.
After studying at the University Of Sussex and the National Film and Television School
National Film and Television School
The National Film and Television School was established in 1971 and is based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and it is located close to Pinewood Studios.-History:...
in Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...
in the 1980s, Pharoah played rugby for Wimbledon and began his television writing career on the BBC soap opera EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
in 1991, on which he worked for four years and where he met co-writer Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos Film and Television science fiction series Life on Mars, which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim....
. He went on in 1994 – 1995 to contribute five episodes to the popular BBC One drama series Casualty and four episodes to Silent Witness
Silent Witness
Silent Witness is a BBC crime thriller series focusing on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in February 1996, the series is still airing to the present day, with a fifteenth series expected to air in January 2012. The series was...
(1996).
For ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
he created the long-running series Where the Heart Is
Where the Heart Is (1997 TV series)
Where the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...
, for which he wrote episodes from 1997 to 2000, and contributed to the BBC One TV programme Down to Earth
Down to Earth (UK TV series)
Down to Earth was a BBC One television series first broadcast in 2000 about a couple who start a new life on a Devon farm. The early episodes of the series were based on a series of books written by Faith Addis about their real-life move from London to Devon.The music in the series was composed by...
in 2001. Among other work in the early 2000s he scripted an adaptation of Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes. The story is set at Rugby School, a public school for boys, in the 1830s; Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842...
, starring Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, for the ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
network in 2005.
Meanwhile Pharoah, Matthew Graham and veteran Eastenders writer Tony Jordan
Tony Jordan
Tony Jordan is a British television writer. He was listed as the number 1 television screen writer in the UK by Broadcast magazine and among British Broadcastings Top 20 in The Stage ., He currently resides in Hertfordshire, UK.For many years, he was lead writer and series consultant for BBC One...
spent years co-creating Life on Mars, which was first shown in 2006, and Pharoah contributed episodes to both series of the acclaimed show. Other work around this time included creating the series Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart (TV series)
Wild at Heart is a current ITV television drama series about a Bristol-based vet and his family emigrating to start a game park in South Africa. The show premiered in January 2006 and has recently finished screening its sixth series...
(2006 – present) for Company Pictures
Company Pictures
Company Pictures is an independent British television production company which has produced drama programming for many broadcasters. Their productions have included:*drama series Wild at Heart for ITV1, written by Ashley Pharoah....
and adapting Under the Greenwood Tree
Under the Greenwood Tree
Under the Greenwood Tree or The Mellstock Quire: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published anonymously in 1872. It was Hardy's second published novel, the last to be printed without his name, and the first of his great series of Wessex novels...
for Ecosse Films
Ecosse Films
Ecosse Films is a British film and television production company based in London. Ecosse Films is a multi award-winning company, specialising in high-quality drama for film and television, producing 11 films and over 300 hours of network television for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Showtime, Starz Channel...
.
In 2006 he formed Monastic Productions with Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos Film and Television science fiction series Life on Mars, which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim....
. Monastic Productions are involved in the Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
spin-off Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
and co-produced Bonekickers
Bonekickers
Bonekickers was a BBC drama about a team of archaeologists, set at the fictional Wessex University. It debuted on 8 July 2008 and ran for one series....
, a 6-part drama series about archaeology, set in Bath. Both series are productions for BBC One. He has won two International Emmys for "Life On Mars", a series which was remade for ABC in America, starring Harvey Keitel. In 2010 Pharoah adapted "Case Histories", the novel by Kate Atkinson, for the BBC. It stars Jason Isaacs and was a co-production between Monastic Productions and Ruby Television.
In February 2011 Pharoah was made an Honorary Fellow of the National Film and Television School
National Film and Television School
The National Film and Television School was established in 1971 and is based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and it is located close to Pinewood Studios.-History:...
; this is awarded "in recognition of outstanding contribution to the British film and television industry". Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
also received this fellowship at the same graduation ceremony.
Selected filmography
Writer- HustleHustle (TV series)Hustle is a British television drama series made by Kudos Film and Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. Created by Tony Jordan and first broadcast in 2004, the series follows a group of con artists who specialise in "long cons" – extended deceptions which require greater commitment, but...
- "A Touch of Class" (2003)
- Tom Brown's SchooldaysTom Brown's Schooldays (2005 film)Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 2005 television film adaptation of the Thomas Hughes novel of the same name. It was released on January 1, 2005 and released on DVD 9 days later.-Plot:...
(Adapted from the novel by Thomas HughesThomas HughesThomas Hughes was an English lawyer and author. He is most famous for his novel Tom Brown's Schooldays , a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. It had a lesser-known sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford .- Biography :Hughes was the second son of John Hughes, editor of...
, 2005) - Life on MarsLife on Mars (TV series)Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
- Series 1, Episode 4Series 1: Episode 4 (Life on Mars)The fourth episode of the first series of the British time travel police procedural television series, Life on Mars, was first broadcast on 30 January 2006. It was produced by Kudos Film & Television for BBC One.-Synopsis:...
(2006) - Series 1, Episode 6Series 1: Episode 6 (Life on Mars)The sixth episode of the first series of the British time travel police procedural television series, Life on Mars, was first broadcast on 13 February 2006. It was produced by Kudos Film & Television for BBC One.-Synopsis:...
(Co-written with Matthew GrahamMatthew GrahamMatthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos Film and Television science fiction series Life on Mars, which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim....
, 2006) - Series 2, Episode 4Series 2: Episode 4 (Life on Mars)The fourth episode of the second series of the British time travel police procedural television series, Life on Mars, was first broadcast on 13 March 2007. It was produced by Kudos Film & Television for BBC One.-Synopsis:...
(2007)
- Series 1, Episode 4
- Wild at HeartWild at Heart (TV series)Wild at Heart is a current ITV television drama series about a Bristol-based vet and his family emigrating to start a game park in South Africa. The show premiered in January 2006 and has recently finished screening its sixth series...
- Series 1, Episode 1 (2006)
- Series 1, Episode 2 (2006)
- Series 1, Episode 3 (2006)
- Series 1, Episode 4 (2006)
- Series 1, Episode 5 (2006)
- Series 1, Episode 6 (2006)
- Series 2, Episode 2 (2007)
- Series 2, Episode 2 (2007)
- Series 2, Episode 9 (2007)
- Series 2, Episode 10 (2007)
- Series 3, Episode 1 (2008)
- Series 3, Episode 7 (2008)
- Series 3, Episode 8 (2008)
- Series 4, Episode 1 (2009)
- Series 4, Episode 7 (2009)
- Series 4, Episode 8 (2009)
- Ashes to AshesAshes to Ashes (TV series)Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
- Series One, Episode Two (2008)
- Series One, Episode Eight (2008)
- Series Two, Episode One
- Series Two, Episode Four
- BonekickersBonekickersBonekickers was a BBC drama about a team of archaeologists, set at the fictional Wessex University. It debuted on 8 July 2008 and ran for one series....
- "Warriors" (2008)
External links
- Ashley Pharoah at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
. - Ashley Pharoah interview at bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
. - British stars dominate Emmy TV awards
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8115817/Screenwriters-clash-over-state-of-TV-drama.html