Ian Donald Cochrane Hopkins

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Ian Donald Cochrane Hopkins
Born(1943-07-16)16 July 1943
Darvel, Scotland
Occupationcomedy writer and management consultant
LanguageEnglish
NationalityScottish
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
Alma materLondon University
SubjectEconomics

Ian Donald Cochrane Hopkins (also known as IDC Hopkins or Ian D. C. Hopkins or Ian Hopkins) is a Scottish comedy writer [1] [2] and management consultant.

Born in Darvel, Ayrshire on 16 July 1943, Hopkins attended Kilmarnock Academy before pursuing a career in Industrial Engineering. [2]

Hopkins undertook a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics at London University, following which he became a lecturer in Management at the University of the West of Scotland. [2]

Hopkins comedy writing career began as a contracted writer for Naked Radio, Six of the Best, Not the Nine O'Clock News, [3] [4] Three of a Kind, [5] Naked Video [6] and Spitting Image. [7] [8]

Hopkins has had three stage plays performed. Albatross Soup (co-authored with John Duignan), [9] Citizen Singh (co-authored with Gurmeet Mattu) and Every Bloody Sunday (co-authored with Gurmeet Mattu).

Hopkins has also had three satirical novels published, each co-authored with John Duignan: Skelp the Aged [10] [11] [12] in 2016; The Buick Stops Here [13] [14] in 2017; and The Lambshank Redemption [15] [16] in 2019.

Hopkins and Duignan began writing Skelp the Aged as a play, before deciding to make it a novel. [10] The three novels in the trilogy by Hopkins and Duignan follow hapless anti-heroes Mungo and Ethel Laird, in and out of trouble - and jail - as they struggle to maintain a living as bookies. [17] [2]

Hopkins also co-authored Shit Yourself Laughing [18] with Frank Muir.

In 2020, Hopkins' satirical novella, A Glutton-Free Diet, was published by Pegasus Publishers. [19] [20] The story takes place on the Isle of Arran and is set against the background of the New Labour government unveiling its proposals for a Scottish Parliament. The protagonists, in their own ways, represent the major contemporary influences in the 1997 Scottish devolution debate.

In July 2024 Hopkins latest novella, The Granny State of Drumhumble [21] , was published.

Set in the Scottish Highlands the novella is a "Satirical meta-fiction where Brigadoon meets Brave New World".

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References

  1. ↑ "Ian Hopkins and John Duignan". Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers Ltd. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The secret life of the Scots comedy stars". The Herald Scotland. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  3. ↑ "Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982)". IMDb.
  4. ↑ "Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982)". IMDb.
  5. ↑ "Three of a Kind (1981–1983) Episode #1.1". IMDb.
  6. ↑ "Naked Video (1986–1991) Episode #1.1". IMDb.
  7. ↑ "Spitting Image (1984–1996) Episode #1.4". IMDb.
  8. ↑ "Spitting Image (1984–1996) Episode #1.5". IMDb.
  9. ↑ Hopkins, Ian (11 April 2019). "Obituary: John Duignan, Scottish lecturer and comedy writer who wrote for Not The Nine O'Clock News". The Herald (Glasgow). Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  10. 1 2 Speirs, Kenneth (31 March 2016). "Duo book in for first novel: WRITE ONComedy tale started off as a play (book review)". Paisley Daily Express.
  11. ↑ Pegasus Elliot MacKenzie Publishers ISBN   9781910903001
  12. ↑ "Skelp the Aged". Pegasus Publishers. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  13. ↑ Pegasus Elliot MacKenzie Publishers ISBN   9781910903094
  14. ↑ "The Buick stops here". Pegasus Publishers. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  15. ↑ Pegasus Elliot MacKenzie Publishers ISBN   9781910903216
  16. ↑ "The Lambshank Redemption". Pegasus Publishers. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  17. ↑ Scott, Gary (19 April 2019). "Country gal with urban influences". The Herald (Glasgow).
  18. ↑ JHJ22 Publishing ISBN   0993251854
  19. ↑ Pegasus Elliot MacKenzie Publishers ISBN   9781910903360
  20. ↑ "A Glutton-Free Diet". Pegasus Publishers. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  21. ↑ "The Granny State of Drumhumble" . Retrieved 29 July 2024.
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