Bryan Elsley

Last updated

Bryan Elsley
Born (1961-05-17) 17 May 1961 (age 62)
Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
OccupationTelevision writer
Children Jamie Brittain
Jess Brittain

Bryan Elsley (born 17 May 1961 in Dalkeith, Midlothian)[ citation needed ] is a Scottish television writer, best known for the co-creation of E4 teen drama Skins with his son, Jamie Brittain. Other television dramas include Rose and Maloney , The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star , The Crow Road , Dates , and Kiss Me First .

Contents

Early life and education

Elsley attended Dalkeith High School before going on to read English and History at the Alcuin College, University of York in York, England, where he graduated with a B.A. in 1982.

Career

While a student at the University of York, Elsley met and collaborated with Harry Enfield. [1] They created a comedy duo, "Dusty and Dick", and performed a sell out show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Elsley took up a career in theatrical writing, and then pursued television writing after parting from Enfield. For three years, Elsley was artistic director of Pocket Theatre Cumbria, which was based at Kendal's Brewery Arts Centre. [2] At that time he was also writing episodes for TV series Casualty and London's Burning . These, and his short film Govan Ghost Story (1989), opened up other opportunities for other television writing. Elsley's big break came when he was commissioned by the BBC to adapt Iain Banks's novel The Crow Road for television. [3]

On 18 March 2010, Elsey announced via the Skins blog that the final episode of series 4 was his last as a writer for the UK series, although Elsley did return to write the opening episode for series 6 in 2012. He executive produced Skins U.S. in 2011. [4]

Personal life

Elsley has five children and currently lives in Kentish Town, London.

Film and television work

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Enfield</span> English actor, comedian and writer (born 1961)

Henry Richard Enfield is an English comedian, actor, writer and director. He is known in particular for his television work, including Harry Enfield's Television Programme and Harry & Paul, and for the creation and portrayal of comedy characters such as Kevin the Teenager, Loadsamoney, Smashie and Nicey, The Scousers, Tim Nice-But-Dim and Mr. "You Don't Want to Do It Like That".

<i>The Crow Road</i> 1992 novel by Iain Banks

The Crow Road is a novel by the Scottish writer Iain Banks, published in 1992.

Joseph McFadden is a Scottish actor, best known for his roles in The Crow Road,Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll, Heartbeat and Holby City. He won the 2017 series of the BBC One series Strictly Come Dancing with professional dance partner Katya Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Grounds</span> British playwright and screenwriter

Tony Grounds is a British playwright and screenwriter, who has worked extensively in television. Described by The Independent as "the best TV writer of his generation", Grounds has written for all four of Britain's main channels.

Rob Rouse is an English comedian.

<i>Skins</i> (British TV series) British television series (2007–2013)

Skins is a British teen comedy drama television series that follows the lives of a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of sixth form. Its controversial story-lines have explored issues like dysfunctional families, mental illness, adolescent sexuality, gender, substance abuse, death, and bullying.

Jamie Brittain is a Scottish television writer and actor. Along with his father, Bryan Elsley, he co-created the E4 teen drama Skins. On 1 April 2011, Brittain announced that he would be leaving the show, but he returned for the final seventh series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">April Pearson</span> English actress

April Janet Pearson is an English actress. Born and brought up in Bristol, Pearson was drawn to acting from a young age and appeared in local theatre productions as a child. She made her acting debut in 1998 at the age of nine on the British medical drama series Casualty, and earned wider recognition in her breakthrough role as impressionable teenager Michelle Richardson in the E4 teen drama series Skins (2007–2008), for which she was nominated for the Golden Nymph Award for an Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.

Charles Martin is a British television producer. In 2007, he was awarded a British Academy Children's Award. He made his film directorial debut with S.M.A.R.T. Chase in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Warner</span> American dramatist

Craig Warner is a multiple award-winning playwright and screenwriter who lives and works in Suffolk, England.

Ben Schiffer is a British television screenwriter and playwright.

Pandora (<i>Skins</i>) 4th episode of the 3rd season of Skins

"Pandora" is the fourth episode of the third series of the British teen drama Skins, which first aired on 12 February 2009 on E4 in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. The episode was written by Bryan Elsley and Georgia Lester, and was directed by Simon Massey. The episode focuses on the character of Pandora Moon, who is miserable after her boyfriend, Thomas Tomone, recently returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She holds a small pyjama party for her friends, but it descends into chaos when uninvited guests arrive and the food is spiked with drugs. Pandora and Effy get into an argument after both girls have sex with James Cook, but the argument is interrupted when Thomas unexpectedly returns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Thorne</span> English screenwriter and playwright

Jack Thorne FRSL is a British playwright, television writer, screenwriter, and producer.

<i>Skins</i> (American TV series) American television series

Skins is an American/Canadian teen comedy-drama television series that premiered on January 17, 2011, on MTV in the United States. It is a remake of the original UK show of the same name, and follows the lives of a group of teenagers in Toronto, Canada, through their final two years of high school. As with the UK series, the American version features a cast of amateur actors and young writers.

<i>Skins</i> (series 1) 1st series of the British television show Skins

Skins is a British teen drama created by father-and-son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for Company Pictures. The first series began airing on E4 on 25 January 2007 and ended on 22 March 2007. This series sees the introduction of a new cast; it follows the lives of the first generation of sixth form students Tony Stonem, Michelle Richardson, Sid Jenkins, Cassie Ainsworth, Chris Miles, Jal Fazer, Maxxie Oliver and Anwar Kharral.

<i>Skins</i> (series 7) 7th series of the British television show Skins

Skins is a British teen drama created by father-and-son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for Company Pictures. The seventh and final series, entitled Skins Redux, began airing on E4 on 1 July 2013 and ended on 5 August 2013. The final series sees the return of several characters from the first two generations of the show.

<i>Dates</i> (TV series) British television series

Dates is a British television romantic drama series created by Bryan Elsley, who also created Skins, which first aired on Channel 4 on 10 June 2013, at 22:00 (BST), as part of its "Mating Season" programming, illustrating a series of first dates between online dating service users. The show's target audience is "ABC1".

A television program creator is the person who developed a significant part of a TV show's format, concept, characters, and pilot script. They have sequel rights to the material as well.

<i>Kiss Me First</i> (TV series) British cyber-thriller drama series

Kiss Me First is a British cyber-thriller drama series created by Bryan Elsley for Channel 4 and Netflix. It began airing on 2 April 2018 on Channel 4 and was made available on Netflix worldwide on 29 June 2018.

Jess Brittain is a British television writer. She is best known as a writer for the Channel 4 TV series Skins, and as the creator, producer and writer for the web television thriller series Clique, streamed on BBC Three.

References

  1. Edwards, Gareth (20 January 2007). "Bryan's had to Bare all in Skins". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  2. "Nature Boy (1999)". Cumbria on film. BBC Cumbria. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  3. "The Crow Road box set review: a masterful adaptation of Iain Banks's addictive family saga". The Guardian. 23 April 2015.
  4. "Bryan Elsley". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019.