Ashley Pharoah (born 13 September 1959) is a British screenwriter and television producer. He is best known as the co-creator/writer of the successful drama series ''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...

'', which began on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

in 2006, and creator/writer of the family drama '' Wild at Heart'', which aired on ITV1 from 2006 until 2012.

Early life

was born in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

but grew up in Nailsea, North Somerset. He attended Waycroft Junior School in

Stockwood Stockwood is a residential area and council ward in south Bristol, between Whitchurch and Brislington, and west of the Somerset town of Keynsham. Geography Stockwood forms an outermost southern suburb of the city with much green space; the u ...

and continued at

Queen Elizabeth's Hospital Queen Elizabeth's Hospital (also known as QEH) is an independent day school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1586. QEH is named after its original patron, Queen Elizabeth I. Known traditionally as "The City School", Queen Elizabeth's Hos ...

, an independent school in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

. studied at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

and the

National Film and Television School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by ''The Hollywood Rep ...

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

in the 1980s. His graduation film ''Water's Edge'' was nominated for a BAFTA.

Career

played rugby for Wimbledon and began his television writing career on the BBC soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' in 1991, on which he worked for four years and where he met co-writer

Matthew Graham Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/ Kudos Film and Television science fiction series '' Life on Mars'', which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim. Career Graham ...

. He went on in 1994–1995 to contribute five episodes to the popular BBC One drama series '' Casualty'' and four episodes to ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel ...

'' (1996).Internet Movie Database
For ITV he created the long-running series '' Where the Heart Is'', for which he wrote episodes from 1997 to 2000, and created the BBC One TV programme '' Down to Earth'' in 2001. Among other work in the early 2000s he scripted an adaptation of ''

Tom Brown's Schooldays ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes. The stor ...

'', starring

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

, for the

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

network in 2005. Meanwhile, , Matthew Graham and veteran ''Eastenders'' writer

Tony Jordan Tony Jordan (born 21 July 1957) is a British television writer. He was listed as the number one television screenwriter in the United Kingdom by ''Broadcast'' magazine in 2008 and among British broadcasting's top twenty in ''The Stage'' in 20 ...

spent years co-creating ''Life on Mars'', which was first shown in 2006, and contributed episodes to both series of the show. Other work around this time included creating the series '' Wild at Heart'' (2006 – present) for

Company Pictures Company Pictures is an independent British television production company which has produced drama programming for many broadcasters. It was set up in 1998 by Charles Pattinson and George Faber, colleagues at BBC Films. Their first film was ''Mo ...

and adapting ''

Under the Greenwood Tree ''Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School'' is a novel by the English writer Thomas Hardy, published anonymously in 1872. It was Hardy's second published novel, and the first of what was to become his series of Wessex n ...

'' for

Ecosse Films Ecosse Films is a British film and television production company based in London. Ecosse Films produces programs for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Showtime, Sky Atlantic, Starz Channel and WGBH. History The first production of Ecosse Films was the 1 ...

. In 2006 he formed Monastic Productions with Matthew Graham. Monastic Productions is involved in the ''

'' spin-off '' Ashes to Ashes'' and co-produced ''

Bonekickers ''Bonekickers'' is a BBC drama about a team of archaeologists, set at the fictional Wessex University. It made its début on 8 July 2008 and ran for one series. It was written by '' Life on Mars'' and '' Ashes to Ashes'' creators Matthew Graha ...

'', a six-part drama series about archaeology, set in

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

. Both series are productions for BBC One. He has won two International Emmys for "Life on Mars", a series which was remade for ABC in America, starring

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...

. In 2010 adapted '' Case Histories'', the novel by Kate Atkinson, for the BBC. It stars

Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor. Isaac's film roles include Col. Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001), Lucius Malfoy in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2002–2011), Ca ...

and was a co-production between Monastic Productions and Ruby Television. Other work around this time include "

Eternal Law Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known ...

" for ITV and an adaptation of '' Moonfleet'' for Sky, starring

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...

. His series '' The Living And The Dead'', starring

Colin Morgan Colin Morgan (born 1 January 1986) is a Northern Irish actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the BBC fantasy series ''Merlin'' (2008–2012), Leo Elster in ''Humans'' (2015–2018), and Billy Clanton in Kenneth Branagh’s ...

, was screened on BBC1 in the summer of 2016. Pharoah was co-creator, writer and executive producer on an adaptation of Jules Verne's ''

Around The World In Eighty Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...

'', which starred David Tennant and was screened around the world in 2021.

Accolades

In February 2011 was made an Honorary Fellow of the

; this is awarded "in recognition of outstanding contribution to the British film and television industry". In a ceremony at Bath Abbey in 2016, was made a Doctor of Letters by

Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire. The inst ...

for his contribution to screenwriting and television production. He was awarded the Hamilton Deane Award by the Dracula Society for '' The Living And The Dead'' in 2016

Writing credits

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * at

bbc.co.uk BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, the childr ...

.
British stars dominate Emmy TV awards
*http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8115817/Screenwriters-clash-over-state-of-TV-drama.html
Interview with Ashley Pharoah by Montse Bru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pharaoh, Ashley 1959 births Living people People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Hospital, Bristol Alumni of the University of Sussex Alumni of the National Film and Television School Mass media people from Southampton British soap opera writers British television writers English television writers English screenwriters English male screenwriters English soap opera writers British male television writers