Ben Schiffer (born 12 July 1983) is a British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. He is married to actress

Emily Taaffe Emily Anne Taaffe is an Irish actress based in South London. Early life and education The youngest of five children, Emily was born to Noeleen and Eamonn Taaffe in Skerries, Ireland. The family moved when she was an infant to Tullyallen near ...

Early life and education

Schiffer was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, the Netherlands, the second son of Jewish American emigrants. He moved to London at the age of two. He attended University College School before moving to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland to read English and History at Trinity College Dublin, graduating with a First-Class Honours B.A. in 2006. His first commission, whilst still at University, was the short film ''Hot Or Not'', broadcast on BBC One in 2006.

Career

Theatre

Schiffer wrote his first play, ''Paper Tigers'', whilst still at university; the play ran to sell-out crowds at the Edinburgh Fringe. His recent theatre work includes ''His Ghostly Heart'' and ''50 Ways To Leave Your Lover'', both commissioned by and performed at The

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. The Bush Theatre strives to create a spa ...

as well as at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. Ben has been on the Royal Court Theatre's Young Writers Scheme and has had his previous plays performed in London, Dublin, Edinburgh and the Latitude Festival.

Television

Schiffer wrote episodes of ''

Brief Encounters ''Brief Encounters'' is a studio album by French singer Amanda Lear, released in 2009 by independent label Just Good Music for Your Ears. Background Amanda Lear met the singer and producer Enrico Petrelli in Paris in 2008, and started working ...

'' and '' Spooks: Code 9'' in 2006 and 2008, respectively. He then would work on the UK teen drama '' Skins'', writing a total of five episodes for the first four series, as well as contributing a story for the episode ''Abbud'' in 2011. In 2013, he wrote and co-executive produced ''

Dates Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner **Group dating *Play date, an ...

'', created by ''Skins'' creator Bryan Elsley for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. He wrote a pilot, ''Goths'', with Jack Thorne, for Shine Media. His previous comedy pilot ''Not Safe For Work'' won an RTS Student Award in 2010. He would contribute episodes to '' Stan Lee's Lucky Man'', Netflix's ''

Young Wallander ''Young Wallander'' is a crime drama streaming television series, based on Henning Mankell's fictional Inspector Kurt Wallander. The series premiered on Netflix on 3 September 2020. Star Adam Pålsson explained that the pre-imagining (i.e., ''Yo ...

'', Sky's '' Intergalactic'' and ''

Ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

'', on which he also served as co-producer. Most recently, he served as the Creator and Showrunner o
'The Turkish Detective'
an adaptation of Barbara Nadel's 'DI Ikmen' novels for Paramount+.

Film

He was cited as one of

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

's ''Stars of Tomorrow'' in 2009 and his screenplay ''Cheerleaders 3D'' came second in the 2010 ''Brit List'' with 8 Votes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schiffer, Ben 1983 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin 21st-century British male writers British television writers British male screenwriters British dramatists and playwrights British male dramatists and playwrights British male television writers 21st-century British screenwriters