Tim Dawson

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Tim Dawson
Born1988 (age 3637) [1]
Oxford, United Kingdom
Occupation Screenwriter
NationalityBritish
Period2007–present
GenreTelevision
SubjectComedy
Notable works Coming of Age
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps

Tim Dawson (born 1988) is a British screenwriter and writer best known for his work on a number of television comedies.

Contents

Education

He was educated at Abingdon School from 1999 to 2006. [2] During his time at school, Dawson won the North Drama Prize and he was the comedy actor in school productions of Here to Entertain You and The Comedians. He also wrote, produced and directed Bang Goes Douglas Smith. [3]

Career

Dawson began his career in 2007 when his original sitcom, Coming of Age , was piloted by BBC Three. [4] The show ran for three series [5] [6] [7] to mixed reviews. [8] Exteriors for the fictional Wooton College were filmed near his hometown in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, while interiors were recorded at BBC Television Centre using a multi-camera setup with a live studio audience. [9]

Dawson achieved the remarkable feat of having his own BBC sitcom commissioned at just 18 years old, making him one of the youngest creators in BBC history to achieve this milestone. In 2008 BBC Comedy executive producer Stephen McCrum praised Dawson, noting that "he employs a broad range of weaponry, from knob gags to sharp and witty jokes - and he's still only 20 [10]

BBC Three controller, Danny Cohen (media executive) heaped praise on Dawson, noting "I'm delighted that Coming Of Age has been such a hit with young viewers. The writer Tim Dawson and the young cast are bright emerging stars for the BBC." [11]

He also wrote on Series 7 and 8 of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps . [12] Dawson was identified as a "Broadcast Hot Shot" in a 2008 edition of the industry magazine Broadcast . [13]

The British Comedy Guide website states that, in 2016, Dawson and Two Pints creator Susan Nickson were working on a new Carry On film. [14] Dawson also acts as editor for the British Comedy Guide's professional platform BCG Pro [15] [ importance? ]

In 2018, Dawson is recorded as writer of episode 1.3 of Lady Christina, (Portrait of a Lady) a series of audio dramas spun-off from Doctor Who and made by Big Finish Productions. [16] The episode was described as "a James Bond homage that's more Roger Moore and less Daniel Craig" featuring Lady Christina and UNIT's Sam Bishop. [17]

Dawson has written for a number of comedians, Adrian Edmondson, Stephen K. Amos, Dick and Dom, Joe Pasquale, and Jon Culshaw amongst others. [18]

Dawson stood as a Conservative council candidate for the ward of Hulme in the 2018 Manchester City Council elections. He received 182 votes and came 6th in the election. [19] An avid supporter of the arts and Creative industries, Dawson however described himself as a mainstream Conservative in an article published later that year [20]

In 2019, The Guardian reported that Dawson was a member of the pro-Brexit organisation Britain's Future. [21] The organisation was a large UK political advertiser on Facebook, spending £340,000 on campaign advertisements. [22] Dawson declared the source of the funds were "small donations from fellow Brexiteers". [23]

Not for Turning, a radio drama by Dawson, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2020. [24]

Dawson has written articles for The Daily Telegraph , [25] The Spectator , [26] The Critic , [27] Spiked , [28] and the British Comedy Guide . [29]

See also

References

  1. "Young writer pens BBC sitcom". Oxford Mail. 12 April 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  2. "Tim Dawson" (PDF). Abingdon School. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  3. "Drama" (PDF). The Abingdonian.
  4. "Coming of Age". BBC Three . Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  5. Sabbagh, Dan (8 February 2008). "BBC Three pins relaunch hopes on integration of TV and web". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 30 August 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2008.(subscription required)
  6. "Coming Of Age is recommissioned for BBC Three" (Press release). BBC. 4 December 2008.
  7. "Coming of Age, Series 3". comedy.co.uk. 27 November 2011.
  8. "Last night's TV review: Dawn Porter: Free Lover, Channel 4 - Coming Of Age, BBC3". 29 January 2010. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  9. Coming of Age (TV Series 2007–2011) - Filming & production - IMDb . Retrieved 26 November 2025 via www.imdb.com.
  10. "Tim Dawson, 20, writer". Broadcast. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  11. "BBC Three recommissions 'Coming Of Age'". Digital Spy. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  12. "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Series 8, Comic Relief Special: When Janet Met Michelle". BBC Three. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  13. "Tim Dawson, 20, writer". Broadcast. 22 August 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2012.(subscription required)
  14. "British Comedy Guide - Carry On Doctors". www.comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  15. Guide, British Comedy. "Tim Dawson". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  16. "1. Lady Christina - The Worlds of Doctor Who - Special Releases - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  17. Devereux, Raissa (24 August 2018). "In Review: Big Finish: Lady Christina". SciFiPulse.Net. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  18. Guide, British Comedy. "Tim Dawson". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  19. "Election results - Local elections 2018 | Manchester City Council". www.manchester.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  20. Dawson, Tim (6 July 2018). "Artists and writers should champion freedom of thought - that's exactly what we'll be doing this Sunday". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  21. Waterson, Jim; Hern, Alex; Noor, Poppy (9 March 2019). "Obscure no-deal Brexit group is UK's biggest political spender on Facebook". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  22. Waterson, Jim; editor, Jim Waterson Media (3 April 2019). "Facebook Brexit ads secretly run by staff of Lynton Crosby firm". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 21 May 2025.{{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  23. Alex, Spence; Di stefano, Mark (9 March 2019). "A Mysterious Hard Brexit Group". Buzzfeed. ISSN   2045-0621 . Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  24. "BBC Radio 4 - Drama - Not For Turning". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  25. Dawson, Tim (8 July 2018). "Artists and writers should champion freedom of thought". The Telegraph. London.
  26. "Author: Tim Dawson". Spectator Life. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  27. "Author: Tim Dawson". www.thecritic.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  28. "Tim Dawson, Author at spiked". www.spiked-online.com. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  29. "Tim Dawson, Press". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2 March 2021.