Emma Jane Reeves is a Welsh screenwriter and playwright, best known for her extensive work in children's television series such as the '' Tracy Beaker'' franchise.

Early life and education

Reeves grew up in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. She gained a degree in English from Magdalen College, Oxford and an MA in creative writing from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

Career

Reeves has written extensively for theatre, including shows based on material she would also work on in television, such as ''Hetty Feather'' and ''The Worst Witch'', as well as adaptations of '' Cool Hand Luke'' and '' Little Women''. In 2005, she moved into television, gaining her first credit on BBC One's '' Doctors''. She became a prolific children's writer following working on ''

The Story of Tracy Beaker ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' is a British children's book first published in 1991, written by Jacqueline Wilson and illustrated by Nick Sharratt. Background The book is told from the point of view of Tracy Beaker, a troubled ten-year-old gir ...

'', writing for series like '' Half Moon Investigations'', ''

Chuggington ''Chuggington'' (also known as ''Chuggington: Tales from the Rails'' since series six) is a British computer-animated children's television series aimed at toddlers, produced by Ludorum PLC (Series 1–5) and Herschend Entertainment Studios (s ...

'' and ''

Young Dracula ''Young Dracula'' is a British children's horror drama comedy television series which aired on CBBC, loosely based on '' Young Dracula'', a 2002 children's book by Michael Lawrence. It is also based on the epistolary novel ''Dracula'', writt ...

''. She would return to the ''Tracy Beaker'' franchise several times, writing for ''

Tracy Beaker Returns ''Tracy Beaker Returns'' is a British television programme. Based upon the novels by Jacqueline Wilson, it is the sequel series to '' The Story of Tracy Beaker''. The series stars Dani Harmer reprising her role as protagonist Tracy Beaker. T ...

'', spin-off ''

The Dumping Ground ''The Dumping Ground'' (also informally referred to as ''The DG'') is a British children's television drama series that focuses on the lives and experiences of young people who live in a children's home with their care workers in care. The s ...

'' and in 2021, ''

My Mum Tracy Beaker ''My Mum Tracy Beaker'' is a British children's television miniseries that premiered on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on 12 February 2021. The show was aired the week after The Dumping Ground's eighth series concluded. The series follows on from the e ...

''. This was followed by '' The Beaker Girls'' that same year. In 2015, she co-created with David Chikwe the CBBC science-fiction series ''

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

''. It starred

Poppy Lee Friar Poppy Lee Friar (born 16 April 1995) is an English actress. She has portrayed television roles including Eve in the CBBC series '' Eve'', Missy Booth in the Channel 4 drama ''Ackley Bridge'' and Lydia in the BBC Three series '' In My Skin''. A ...

that follows the adventures of a

gynoid A gynoid, or fembot, is a feminine humanoid robot. Gynoids appear widely in science fiction film and art. As more realistic humanoid robot design becomes technologically possible, they are also emerging in real-life robot design. Name A gynoid ...

, a female android, named Eve (also known as ''Project Eternity'') living with a family in

suburbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include Commercial area, commercial and mixed-use development, mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a ...

, trying to make sense of human life as a teenage girl. It concluded on 14 December 2016 with an hour-long episode, which was later split into two parts when it was repeated in January 2017. Reeves developed and wrote a new adaptation of ''

The Worst Witch ''The Worst Witch'' is a series of children's books written and illustrated by Jill Murphy. The series are primarily about a girl who attends a witch school and fantasy stories, with eight books published. The first, ''The Worst Witch'', was ...

'', which ran for four series between 2017 and 2020. She would win 'Best British Children's Television' at the British Screenwriters' Awards for her work. In 2019, she helmed a sequel-reboot of ''

The Demon Headmaster ''The Demon Headmaster'' is a series of books by Gillian Cross which were later adapted as a television series starring Terrence Hardiman in the title role and Frances Amey as Dinah. The title character is a strange being with the powers of hy ...

'' for CBBC. Reeves has written audio plays for the Big Finish '' Doctor Who'' ranges, starting with ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...

: Forgotten Lives '' in 2015. She also wrote for the spin-offs ''The Diary of River Song'' and ''The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield ''. Outside of the UK, Reeves co-wrote the

Lifetime Television Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...

movie ''

The Murder of Princess Diana ''The Murder of Princess Diana'' is a 2007 Lifetime Television movie, directed by John Strickland and starring Jennifer Morrison as an American reporter. The film was based on the book by Noel Botham. Reg Gadney and Emma Reeves wrote the telepl ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, Emma Living people Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Alumni of the University of East Anglia 21st-century British women writers 21st-century Welsh women writers Welsh dramatists and playwrights Welsh screenwriters Welsh television writers Welsh women dramatists and playwrights Welsh science fiction writers British women television writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers Year of birth missing (living people)