Jeff Pope is a British

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

and screenwriter who co-wrote the film '' Pierrepoint'' and the television drama ''

The Fattest Man in Britain ''The Fattest Man in Britain'' is a comedy-drama written by Caroline Aherne and Jeff Pope, and directed by David Blair, which aired on ITV, STV & UTV on 20 December 2009. It starred Timothy Spall, wearing a fat suit for the title role, B ...

'' and who won a BAFTA in 2006 for the drama '' See No Evil: The Moors Murders''.''See No Evil: The Moors Murders'' BAFTA Award
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

He is also the Head of

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

Productions Factual Drama. Pope wrote the screenplay for the 2018 film ''

Stan & Ollie ''Stan & Ollie'' is a 2018 biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jon S. Baird. The script, written by Jeff Pope, was inspired by ''Laurel and Hardy: The British Tours'' by A.J. Marriot which chronicled the later years of the comedy double ...

'', and co-wrote the 2022 film ''

The Lost King ''The Lost King'' is a 2022 British comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, based on the 2013 book ''The King's Grave: The Search for Richard III'' by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones. It is a dr ...

''.

Career

Pope's first media job was as a reporter for the Ealing Gazette. He joined

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

in 1983 as a researcher on ''

The Six O'Clock Show ''The Six O'Clock Show'' was a regional television magazine show broadcast in the Greater London area and produced by London Weekend Television between 1982 and 1988. The Friday evening programme was launched on Friday 8 January 1982 and prese ...

''. In 1996 Pope was appointed Head of Factual Drama at

LWT London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

before moving to Granada Television in the same role. He finally moved to

where he is Head of Factual Drama. Among Pope's television writing credits are ''Fool's Gold: The Story of the Brink's-Mat Robbery'' (1992), ''

The Place of the Dead ''The Place of the Dead'' is a 1997 television film directed by Suri Krishnamma and written by Jeff Pope. It is a 'true story' account of a British Army expedition in Malaysia that made headlines in 1994 when it went badly wrong. The expedition w ...

'' (1997), ''

Essex Boys ''Essex Boys'' is a 2000 British crime film. It was directed by Terry Winsor and stars Sean Bean, Alex Kingston, Tom Wilkinson, Charlie Creed-Miles and Holly Davidson. Plot The film is based loosely around events in December 1995 that culmina ...

'' (2000), '' Bob Martin'' (2000), ''

Dirty Filthy Love ''Dirty Filthy Love'' is a British single television drama starring Michael Sheen as an architect living with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome. Directed by Adrian Shergold, the film was first broadcast by ITV on 26 S ...

'' (2004), ''

Christmas Lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom g ...

'' (2004), '' Pierrepoint'' (2005), '' Northern Lights'' (2006), '' City Lights'' (2007), ''

'' (2009) and '' The Widower''. As a producer, Pope's credits include ''Fool's Gold: The Story of the Brink's-Mat Robbery'' (1992), '' The One That Got Away'' (1996), '' The Show'' (1997), '' This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper'' (2000), '' Bob Martin'' (2000), ''

'' (2000), ''

'' (2004), '' Northern Lights'' (2006), '' City Lights'' (2007), '' Pierrepoint'' (2005), and ''

'' (2009). In addition to winning a BAFTA for the television drama '' See No Evil: The Moors Murders'' in 2007, Pope was also nominated in 2001 for ''My Beautiful Son'', and again in 2004 for ''

''. In 2004 he appeared as himself in an episode of ''

The South Bank Show ''The South Bank Show'' is a British television arts magazine series originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on Sky Arts. Conceived, written, ...

''. Pope and Steve Coogan were nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay Film adaptation, adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include st ...

at the 86th Academy Awards for writing ''

Philomena Philomena ( el, Ἁγία Φιλομένα), also known as Saint Philomena or ''Philomena of Rome'' was a young virgin martyr whose remains were discovered on May 24–25, 1802, in the Catacomb of Priscilla. Three tiles enclosing the tomb bore ...

'' starring

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

and Coogan. In 2014, he wrote and produced '' Cilla'', a TV miniseries about the early career of Cilla Black, starring

Sheridan Smith Sheridan Caroline Sian Smith OBE (born 25 June 1981) is an English actress, singer and television personality. Smith came to prominence after playing a variety of characters on sitcoms such as ''The Royle Family'' (1999–2000), '' Two Pints ...

as Black. In 2015, Pope's contributions were recognised when he received the Alan Clarke special BAFTA award. Pope wrote the screenplay for ''

'' (2018), a biographical comedy-drama film based on the lives of the comedy double act Laurel and Hardy and starring Steve Coogan and

John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in '' Days of Thunder'' (1990), '' ...

as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It premiered in October 2018 at the BFI London Film Festival and was released in the United States on 28 December 2018 and in the United Kingdom on 11 January 2019. In 2022, Archie a TV series Pope wrote about

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

was commissioned by ITV. Pope executive-produced '' The Reckoning'', a mini-series about the life of Jimmy Savile, starring Steve Coogan as Savile. However, the show has now been delayed to 2024. A source said, “The four-part drama is being edited in such a meticulous and careful way, so as not to create more pain and suffering for Savile’s victims.”

References

External links

*
'Pope's message - an interview with Jeff Pope' ''Broadcast Now'' 15 February 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Jeff Living people Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners British television writers British television producers British male screenwriters British male television writers 1961 births