Christopher David Lee (born 28 March 1947) is an Australian scriptwriter who has been an Australian Associated Press journalist and foreign correspondent and has worked as a script consultant in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, Singapore and New York City. He has won an AFI Award and four

AWGIE Awards The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previou ...

and is the recipient of a Centenary Medal and a Queensland Premier's Literary Award.

Early life

Lee is the son of a country doctor and grew up in western

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He attended

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

(1962–1964) as a boarder and studied at Sydney University (BA) and the Australian Film Television and Radio School.

Screenwriting

He was the creator and writer of the ABC drama series ''

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'', head writer and then script executive of the ABC-BBC drama series ''

Police Rescue ''Police Rescue'' is an Australian television series which originally aired on ABC TV between 1989 and 1996. It was produced by ABC and Southern Star Xanadu in association with the BBC. Apart from the 61 episodes, there was a 90-minute pi ...

''. He wrote four of the six ''

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'' telemovies, and was co-creator and Head Writer of '' Big Sky''. He was an originating writer (with Judi McCrossin) of ''

The Secret Life of Us ''The Secret Life of Us'' is an Australian television drama series set in the beachside neighbourhood of St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is primarily a drama with some comedic moments. The series was produced by Southe ...

'' and co-creator and Head Writer of the short-lived soapie '' Echo Point''. He is the co-creator of the television series '' Rush''. He wrote the SBS teleplay ''That Man's Father'', co-wrote the telemovie, Secret Men's Business (with ''

Nicholas Hammond Nicholas Hammond (born May 15, 1950) is an American-born Australian actor and writer who is best known for his roles as Friedrich von Trapp in the film ''The Sound of Music'' and as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the 1970s television series ''The A ...

'') and wrote the 4-hour mini-series '' Do or Die''. Most recently, Lee has been the writer of the 2011 mini-series '' Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo'' and the 2012 mini-series ''

Howzat! Kerry Packer's War ''Howzat! Kerry Packer's War'' is an Australian drama-miniseries set in the 1970s that premiered on the Nine Network on Sunday 19 August 2012. Plot The Ashes is the pinnacle of world cricket with two old enemies, Australia and England, going ...

'' and the 8-hour mini-series "Gallipoli".

Publishing

He is a short story writer, author of the novel '' Bush Week'' published by Angus & Robertson and writer of the book ''

'', published by

University of New South Wales Press The University of New South Wales Press Ltd. is an Australian academic book publishing company launched in 1962 and based in Randwick, a suburb of Sydney. The ACNC not-for-profit entity has three divisions: NewSouth Publishing (the publishing arm ...

. In 2015, his novel ''Seasons of War'' was published by Penguin Australia.

Lecturer

Lee has lectured in screenwriting at the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. U ...

, the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

, and the Australian Film Television and Radio School.

Awards

His hour of '' Bodysurfer ''won an AFI Award, and he is a four-time

AWGIE Award The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previou ...

winner: for the documentary ''Saturday, Saturday''; the mini-series '' Do or Die''; the telemovie pilot for ''

''; and for an episode of '' Rush'' which he co-created and produced the script for. Lee was awarded the Centenary Medal for his contribution to Australian television and won a Queensland Premier's Literary Award in 2011.Queensland Premier's Literary Awards – 2011
Retrieved 13 August 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Christopher David Australian journalists Australian television writers Recipients of the Centenary Medal People educated at Newington College 1947 births Living people Australian male television writers