Shaun Duggan (born 1970) is a BAFTA nominated English writer based in the UK. He has repeatedly collaborated with
Jimmy McGovern
James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series '' Cracker'' (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He als ...
. He has written several plays and has worked extensively for television including ''
Brookside Brookside may refer to:
Geography Canada
* Brookside, Edmonton
* Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Brookside, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
* Brookside, Berkshire, England
* Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England
United States
* Br ...
'' (Channel 4) and ''
EastEnders'' (BBC1).
Early life and career
Like McGovern, Duggan is associated with a realist tradition centring on documenting life in his home town of Liverpool. Born in
Norris Green
Norris Green is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, England, in the east of the city. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 17,784, which had fallen to 15,047 at the 2011 Census.
History
Historically a part of Lancashire, Norris Green's develo ...
,
["The Smiths and Morrissey changed our lives", ''The Observer'', 2 October 2011](_blank)
/ref> Duggan's writing career began at the age of 16, when his play ''William'', inspired by The Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...
song "William, It Was Really Nothing
"William, It Was Really Nothing" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths. It was released as a single in August 1984, featuring the B-sides "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" and "How Soon Is Now?", and reached No. 17 in t ...
", was produced at London's Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...
Upstairs as part of their Young Writers' Festival, 1986. Shaun was befriended by his hero, Morrissey, who also interviewed him about the play on Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's The Tube. Shaun continued to write other stage plays for the Liverpool Everyman
The Everyman Theatre stands at the north end of Hope Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1964, in Hope Hall (once a chapel, then a cinema), in an area of Liverpool noted for its bohemian environment and political edge, a ...
and the Playhouse, including ''It's Nearly June'', ''A Brusque Affair'', ''All Lips and Sex''; and ''Boy'', (winner of the Liverpool Echo
The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liver ...
and Daily Post Best Writing Award), which went on a UK tour before transferring to the Lyric Studio, London. His play ''Drama Queen'' was produced in Liverpool for the '' Homotopia'' lesbian and gay arts festival as part of the city's Capital of Culture celebrations in 2008.
Television
Duggan spent eight years writing for the Liverpool-set soap opera, ''Brookside'', writing over 100 episodes; he wrote the episode that featured the first pre-watershed lesbian kiss on British television when Beth Jordache (Anna Friel
Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress. Born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, she has been acting professionally since age 13. Friel achieved fame with her portrayal of Beth Jordache on the British soap opera '' Brookside'' ...
) began a relationship with the Farnhams' nanny Margaret Clemence (Nicola Stephenson
Nicola Stephenson (born 5 July 1971) is an English actress. She played the roles of Margaret Clemence in '' Brookside'', Julie Fitzjohn in ''Holby City'', Sarah Williams in '' The Chase'', Allie Westbrook in '' Waterloo Road'', and Tess Harris ...
) in January 1994. The kiss was seen by an estimated global audience of one billion when Danny Boyle
Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including '' Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel '' T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', ''28 Days Later'', '' S ...
included it in the Olympics opening ceremony of London 2012
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. As a result the kiss was shown in countries such as Saudi Arabia, where it is illegal to be gay. No other gay kiss has ever been shown on television in the Middle Eastern country.
Duggan has also written extensively for television. In addition to ''Brookside'' he spent four years on the script-team of '' EastEnders''. Other television work includes ''Is Harry on the Boat
''Is Harry On The Boat'' is a 1997 novel by Colin Butts based on his diaries of his extended time in Ibiza with his friends as part of its club scene. It was originally published by Butts himself by his own publishing company, Tuesday Mornin ...
'' ( BSkyB), '' Maisie Raine'', (BBC), '' Waterloo Road'' (BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
...