Debbie Horsfield (born 1955) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

theatre and television writer and producer.

Early life and career

Horsfield was born in

Urmston Urmston is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, which had a population of 41,825 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Lancashire, it is southwest of Manchester city centre. The southern boundary is the River Mersey, with Stretford ...

and she attended Eccles Grammar School and

Eccles College Eccles Sixth Form College is a further education college in Eccles, Greater Manchester, England. It was opened in 1972. The site provides a range of Vocational courses, across a variety of specialisms. Students are also able to retake their G ...

before studying at

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

, where she gained a BA Honours degree in English Language and Literature. Horsfield worked at the Gulbenkian Studio, Newcastle (1978–80), and for

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas f ...

at The

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

(RSC), 1980–82. Her first plays ''Out on the Floor'' and ''Away from it All'' were produced at the

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

studio and ''All You Deserve'' was performed as part of an RSC Festival at the

Barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe ...

. In 1983, she won the

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

Playwrights Award and became Resident Writer at the

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actress ...

. There she was commissioned to write the Red Devils Trilogy (''Red Devils'', ''True Dare Kiss'', and ''Command Or Promise''). The last two of these were first performed at the National Theatre's studio, the Cottesloe, in 1985. For these plays she was nominated for the 1985 ''Evening Standard'' Awards 'Most Promising Playwright'. ''True Dare Kiss'' was later to be adapted for a TV series. In 2005, she returned to the theatre to adapt her TV series ''Sex, Chips & Rock 'n Roll'' as a musical for the

Royal Exchange, Manchester The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

Television career

In 1982, Horsfield adapted her stage play ''Out On The Floor'' for

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

and wrote an episode of ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

'' for

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

. From 1989 to 1991, she wrote all three series of the BBC1 factory-based drama ''

Making Out Making out is a term of American origin dating back to at least 1949, and is used to refer to kissing, including extended French kissing or heavy kissing of the neck (called ''necking''), or to acts of non-penetrative sex such as heavy petti ...

''. (Royal Television Society 'Best Drama Series' Nomination). 1993–94: Both series of

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

six-part series ''

The Riff Raff Element The Riff Raff Element is a 1990s British television series written by Debbie Horsfield and directed by Jeremy Ancock for BBC One. The series was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series in 1994. Plot The basic pl ...

''. ( BAFTA 'Best Drama Series' Nomination, Writers Guild 'Best Drama Series' Nomination) 1997: Six-part BBC 1 serial ''

Born to Run ''Born to Run'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. As his effort to break into the mainstream, the album was a commercial success, peaking at number thr ...

'' (Royal Television Society 'Best Drama Serial' Nomination). 1999: Six-part BBC One serial ''

Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll ''Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll'' is a six-part television mini-series which was written and created by Debbie Horsfield and directed by John Woods. It was produced by Wall to Wall for BBC One. Originally shown in 1999, it was later adapted into a ...

''. 2002–2005: Four series of the BBC One hair salon-based ''

Cutting It ''Cutting It'' is a BBC television drama series set in Manchester, England, focusing on the lives and loves of the team running a hairdressing salon. It ran for four series between 2002 and 2005. The show featured a number of actors who have sin ...

'' ( BAFTA "Best Drama Series" nomination, Royal Television Society 'Best Drama Series' nomination) 2007: Six-part BBC One serial ''

True Dare Kiss ''True Dare Kiss'' is a six-part British television drama series, created by screenwriter Debbie Horsfield, that first broadcast on BBC One on 28 June 2007. The series follows the reunion of four sisters and a brother following the death of thei ...

''. 2009: ''

All the Small Things "All the Small Things" is a song by American rock music, rock band Blink-182. It was the second single and eighth track released from the band's third album, ''Enema of the State'' (1999). The track was composed primarily by guitarist and vocal ...

'' (2009), BBC One, follows the trials and tribulations of a northern church choir. She has adapted the first seven novels of

Winston Graham Winston Mawdsley Graham OBE, born Winston Grime (30 June 1908 – 10 July 2003), was an English novelist best known for the Poldark series of historical novels set in Cornwall, though he also wrote numerous other works, including contemporary ...

's ''

Poldark ''Poldark'' is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, published from 1945 to 1953 and continued from 1973 to 2002. The first novel, '' Ross Poldark'', was named for the protagonist of the series. The novel series was adapted twice ...

'' cycle for the BBC's '' Poldark series''. Eight episodes were broadcast on BBC One in early 2015, 10 more episodes in autumn 2016, and a further three series based on the later books were broadcast annually from 2017 to 2019. In 2018, the BBC broadcast a six-part series, ''

Age Before Beauty ''Age Before Beauty'' is a BBC television drama series by Debbie Horsfield that premiered on BBC One on 31 July 2018. The six-part series is based in Manchester, England, and stars Robson Green, Sue Johnston, Polly Walker and James Murray. Pl ...

'', which had been written and co-produced by Horsfield. Horsfield has twice won BAFTA Best Drama Series award nominations, for ''The Riff Raff Element'' in 1994 and for ''Cutting It'' in 2003.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horsfield, Debbie 1955 births Living people Alumni of Newcastle University English television producers British women television producers British television producers English television writers British women television writers People from Eccles, Greater Manchester