Barry Pilton
Encyclopedia
Barry Pilton is a travel writer, radio and television comedy scriptwriter and novelist. He was educated in Dulwich College
and King's College London
. In 1967-8 he taught English in Paris
and from 1969 worked as a journalist on the Sunday Post, becoming a freelance writer in 1976. He has worked on Not the Nine O'Clock News
, Shelley
, Week Ending
and Spitting Image
. Between 1984 and 1999 he lived in Llandefailogfach near Brecon
in Mid Wales
and his first novel The Valley
is concerned with the effect of outsiders on the rural status quo. He now lives in Bristol
, and is working on a television adaptation of The Valley.
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
and King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
. In 1967-8 he taught English in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and from 1969 worked as a journalist on the Sunday Post, becoming a freelance writer in 1976. He has worked on Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News is a television comedy sketch show which was broadcast on BBC 2 from 1979 to 1982.Originally shown as a comedy "alternative" to the BBC Nine O'Clock News on BBC 1, it featured satirical sketches on current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy...
, Shelley
Shelley (TV series)
Shelley is a British sitcom made by Thames Television and originally broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1984 and from 1988 to 1992, with occasional hiatuses. Hywel Bennett starred as James Shelley, a sardonic, 28-year-old, anti-establishment postgraduate and career income tax dodger...
, Week Ending
Week Ending
Week Ending... was a satirical radio current affairs sketch show, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4, usually on Friday evenings. It was devised by writer/producers Simon Brett and David Hatch, and was originally hosted by Nationwide presenter Michael Barratt.The show's title was always announced as...
and Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
. Between 1984 and 1999 he lived in Llandefailogfach near Brecon
Brecon
Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...
in Mid Wales
Mid Wales
Mid Wales is the name given to the central region of Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the National Assembly for Wales covered the counties of Ceredigion and Powys and the area of Gwynedd that had previously been the district of Meirionydd. A similar definition is used by the BBC...
and his first novel The Valley
The Valley (novel)
The Valley is the first novel by Barry Pilton, published in 2005 by Bloomsbury. It is a humorous account of the effect of outsiders on the rural status quo in a fictional mid-Wales valley during the 1980s and is being adapted for television....
is concerned with the effect of outsiders on the rural status quo. He now lives 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...
, and is working on a television adaptation of The Valley.
Travel Writing
- Miles of London (1981) (with Sybil Harper) ISBN 0354046527
- One Man and His BogOne Man and His BogOne Man and His Bog is a 1986 travelogue book written by Barry Pilton and published by Corgi which started life as a series of talks on BBC Radio 4. It gives a light-hearted account of his walking the full length of the Pennine Way in 21 days, from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in the...
(1986) (on walking the Pennine WayPennine WayThe Pennine Way is a National Trail in England. The trail runs from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and the Northumberland National Park and ends at Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border. The path runs along the Pennine hills, sometimes...
) ISBN 0552127965 - One Man and His Log (1988) (on sailing the Canal du NivernaisCanal du NivernaisThe Canal du Nivernais links the Loire basin with the Seine basin following approximately the course of the river Yonne in a south to north direction....
in France) ISBN 0552132330 - An Innocent Abroad (1997) ISBN 055299717X
Novels
- The ValleyThe Valley (novel)The Valley is the first novel by Barry Pilton, published in 2005 by Bloomsbury. It is a humorous account of the effect of outsiders on the rural status quo in a fictional mid-Wales valley during the 1980s and is being adapted for television....
(2005) ISBN 0747571686 - Town with No Twin (2007) ISBN 0747589569
- Land of My Neighbours (2009) ISBN 1408802724
External links
- Interview with Barry Pilton (Feb 2005)
- Author webpage