Sheridan Smith

Jeff Pope discusses writing drama and looks back at his life in TV

Caroline Frost and Jeff Pope (Credit: Phil Lewis/Media24)

Speaking to the RTS he said: “It meant that people came to me with their ideas. Steve Coogan came to me with Philomena (Coogan and Pope’s screenplay was nominated for an Oscar and won best screenplay at the Venice Film Festival).

“Success gets you meetings, but it still doesn’t get something past the finishing line if it’s not good enough…It also means you can be more ambitious and more expansive.”

First look at Sheridan Smith in new Jeff Pope drama

Sheridan Smith as Sarah Sak in The Barking Murders (w/t) (Credit: BBC)

The factual drama focuses on the families of the victims of serial killer and rapist Stephen Port (Stephen Merchant), and their fight to find the truth about what happened to Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor.

Now a widely criticised police investigation, the series will shed new light on the case and tell the story from the perspective of the victims’ families including Anthony Walgate’s mother Sarah Sak (Sheridan Smith) and Jack Taylor’s sister Donna Taylor (Jaime Winstone).

Sheridan Smith and Alison Steadman to star in new Jimmy McGovern drama Care

Sheridan Smith, RTS, Awards, 2015,

Based on Juckes’s real-life experiences, Care follows Jenny (Smith) a single mother of two, raising her children with the help of her widowed mother Mary (Steadman). When Mary suffers a devastating stroke and develops dementia, Jenny’s world falls apart, and everything changes for her and her sister Claire (Keenan). Torn between caring for her mother and following her own path, Jenny soon discovers that there could be another option, but it’s one she’ll have to fight for.

ITV commissions new drama series Clean Break

Clean Break follows the story of single mother and cleaning lady Sam (Sheridan Smith), who becomes caught up in the dangerous world of insider trading.

The drama focuses on the struggles of the working class protagonist leading a dual life in online gambling whilst acting as devoted mother fighting for custody of her two daughters.

She soon realises she has access to powerful stock market information and sees it as her opportunity to get her life back.

Inside No 9 to return for third series

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton won at this year's RTS Programme Awards (Credit: Richard Kendal)

Reece Shearsmith has announced that a third series of Inside No 9 is in the pipeline. The dark BBC anthology series features self-contained stories which each take place in a location at number 9.  Each episode features a different cast alongside one or both of the writers Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, the duo who jointly won Best Comedy Performance at this year’s RTS Programme Awards.

ITV’s big drama: Television speaks to drama boss Steve November

Steve November

On 18 September 2016, Steve November has a problem. At 9:00pm that night, the slot arrives in ITV’s schedule that would normally be filled by the season premiere of Downton Abbey.

As Director of Drama for the ITV network, November has to find a replacement – Downton is ending, with the last ever episode to air this coming Christmas Day. And, given Downton’s blockbuster ratings performance, it’s going to be a fiendishly difficult act to follow.