Stephen Russell Davies

Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include ''Queer as Folk'', ''The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One science fiction franchise ''Doctor Who'', ''Cucumber'', ''A Very English Scandal'', '' Years and Years'' and ''It's a Sin''.

Born in Swansea, Davies had aspirations as a comic artist before focusing on being a playwright and screenwriter. After graduating from Oxford University, he joined the BBC's children's department, CBBC, in 1985 on a part-time basis and held various positions, which included creating two series, ''Dark Season'' and ''Century Falls''. He eventually left the BBC for Granada Television, and in 1994 began writing adult television drama. His early scripts generally explored concepts of religion and sexuality among various backdrops: ''Revelations'' was a soap opera about organised religion and featured a lesbian vicar; '' Springhill'' was a soap drama about a Catholic family in contemporary Liverpool; ''The Grand'' explored society's opinion of subjects such as prostitution, abortion and homosexuality during the interwar period; and ''Queer as Folk'' recreated his experiences in the Manchester gay scene. His work in the 2000s included ''Bob & Rose'', which portrayed a gay man who fell in love with a woman; ''The Second Coming'', which focused on the second coming and deicide of Jesus Christ from a mostly non-religious point of view; ''Mine All Mine'', a comedy about a family who discover they own the entire city of Swansea; and ''Casanova'', an adaptation of the complete memoirs of Venetian adventurer Giacomo Casanova.

Following the show's sixteen-year hiatus, Davies revived and ran ''Doctor Who'' for the period between 2005 and 2010, with Christopher Eccleston and later David Tennant in the title role. Davies' tenure as executive producer of the show saw a surge in popularity which led to the production of two spin-off series, '' Torchwood'' and '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'', and the revival of Saturday prime-time dramas as a profitable venture for production companies. Davies was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2008 for services to drama, which coincided with the announcement he would step down from ''Doctor Who'' as the show's executive producer with his final script, " The End of Time" (2009–2010). Davies moved to Los Angeles in 2009, where he oversaw production of '' Torchwood: Miracle Day'' and the fifth and final series of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. Davies returned as ''Doctor Who'' showrunner in October 2022 after the departure of Chris Chibnall; the first episodes of his second tenure will be the show's sixtieth anniversary specials in 2023.

After his partner developed cancer in late 2011, Davies returned to the UK. He co-created the CBBC science fantasy drama ''Wizards vs Aliens'', and created ''Cucumber'', a Channel 4 series about middle-aged gay men in the Manchester gay scene; ''Banana'', an E4 series about young LGBT people in the ''Cucumber'' universe; and '' Tofu'', an All 4 documentary series which discussed LGBT issues. Davies' later work for BBC One in the 2010s include ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', a television film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play; ''A Very English Scandal'', a miniseries adaptation of John Preston's novel of the same name; and '' Years and Years'', a drama series which follows a Manchester family affected by political, economic, and technological changes to Britain over 15 years. Davies returned to Channel 4 for a third time in 2021 as creator of ''It's a Sin'', a semi-autobiographical drama about the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s.

Early life

Stephen Russell Davies was born on 27 April 1963 at Mount Pleasant Hospital in Swansea. His father, Vivian Davies (1925–2015), and his mother, Barbara (1929–1999), were teachers. Davies was the youngest of three children and their only son. Because he was born by caesarean section, his mother was placed on a morphine drip and was institutionalised after an overdose resulted in a psychotic episode. He described his mother's experience as "literally ... like science fiction" and an early inspiration for his writing career. As a child, Davies was almost always referred to by his middle name. He grew up in a household that "never switched the TV off" until after closedown, and he subsequently became immersed in dramas such as '' I, Claudius'' and ''Doctor Who''. One of his first memories, at the age of three, was the 1966 ''Doctor Who'' serial '' The Tenth Planet''. He was also an avid cartoonist and comics enthusiast, and purchased series such as ''Asterix'' and ''Peanuts''.

Davies attended Tycoch Primary School in Sketty and enrolled at Olchfa School aged 11. In his first year, the main school buildings were closed for rebuilding after inspectors discovered the high alumina cement used in construction had caused other public buildings to collapse. Lessons were instead held in portable buildings, which influenced Davies' imagination to create mystery, science-fiction, and conspiracy thriller stories about the main building. He also immersed himself in books such as '' Sons and Lovers'' by D. H. Lawrence and ''The Crystal Mouse'' by Babs H. Deal; the latter influenced him so much he could "see it echoing in anything" he wrote. At age 14, he auditioned for and joined the newly formed West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company (WGYTC). The group's founder and director, Godfrey Evans, considered him to be "a total all-rounder" who was talented and popular with the other students. Working with the group allowed him to define his sexual identity, and he embarked on a several-month relationship with fellow youth actor Rhian Morgan. He later came out as homosexual in his teenage years.

In 1979, Davies completed his O-Levels and stayed at Olchfa with the ambition to study English literature at the University of Oxford; he abandoned his aspirations of becoming a comic artist after a careers advisor convinced him that his colour-blindness would make that path unlikely. During his studies, he participated in the WGYTC's assignments to create Welsh language drama to be performed at the National Eisteddfod of Wales; two such productions were ''Pair Dadeni'', a play based on the Mabinogion myth cycle, and ''Perthyn'', a drama about community belonging and identity in early-1980s West Glamorgan. In 1981, he was accepted by Worcester College, Oxford to study English literature. At Oxford, he realised he was enamoured with the narrative aspect of fiction, especially 19th-century literature such as Charles Dickens.

Davies continued to submit scripts to the WGYT during his studies at Oxford, including ''Box'', a play about the influence of television which Evans noted contained Davies' penchants for misdirecting the audience and mixing comedy and drama; ''In Her Element'', which centred on the animation of still objects; and ''Hothouse'', an Alan Bennett-inspired piece about internal politics in an advertising office. In 1984, he made his final performance for the WGYT and signed up for a course in Theatre Studies at Cardiff University after he graduated from Oxford. He worked sporadically for the Sherman Theatre's publicity department and claimed unemployment benefit in the interim. In 1985, Davies began his professional television career after a friend suggested he should talk to a television producer who was seeking a temporary graphic artist for the children's show '' Why Don't You?''

Children's television career (1985–1993)

Davies was taken on as a member of the BBC Wales children's department (CBBC) in 1985 and given one-day contracts and commissions, such as illustrating for ''Why Don't You?''. As he was only given three days of work per month by the BBC, he continued to freelance and volunteer for the Sherman Theatre. In 1986, he was approached by the '' Sunday Sport'' before its launch to provide a football-themed daily strip; he declined because he was concerned about the pornographic content of the newspaper. He submitted a script for ''Crossroads'' in response to an appeal for new writers; it was not used because the show was cancelled in 1987. He ultimately abandoned his graphic art career entirely when he realised in his early twenties that he enjoyed writing the dialogue of a comic more than creating the art.

On 1 June 1987, Davies made his first and only appearance as a television presenter on ''Play School'' alongside regular presenter Chloë Ashcroft. ''Why Don't You?'' line producer Peter Charlton suggested that he would "be good on camera" and advised him to take his career public. Davies was granted the opportunity for sporadic appearances over a period of six months; he hosted only one episode as a storytelling illustrator before he walked off the set and commented he was "not doing that again". The appearance remains an in-joke in the industry, and the recordings were invariably requested for wrap parties Davies attended.

On ''Why Don't You?'', Davies held various jobs including: researcher, director, illustrator, assistant floor manager and unofficial publicist for fan-mail. He was offered his first professional scriptwriting job in 1986 by producer Dave Evans; he had entered Evans's office to collect his wages and was offered an extra £100 to write a replacement script. Davies' script was positively received by the CBBC and led to increasingly larger roles which culminated in a six-month contract to write for the show after it relocated to Manchester in 1988. He worked for the show for two more years and became the show's producer. He oversaw an increase in drama which tripled its audience—despite the fact BBC Manchester was not permitted by the corporation to create children's dramas—which reached its climax with his last episode: a drama where the ''Why Don't You?'' protagonists, led by the show's longest running presenter Ben Slade

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