Adrian Poynton (born 29 January 1979) is a British

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, producer and

stand up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehea ...

. He is best known as the creator and writer of

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

comedy '' White Van Man'' and its American remake '' Family Tools''. He has written projects for

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, ITV,

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

, ABC and CBS and is often used as a

Script doctor A script doctor is a writer or playwright hired by a film, television, or theatre production company to rewrite an existing script or improve specific aspects of it, including structure, characterization, dialogue, pacing, themes, and other elemen ...

Biography

Born in Staffordshire in 1979, Poynton attended John Taylor High School at Barton-under-Needwood in Staffordshire in the early 1990s. He first began performing as a member of the Lichfield Youth Theatre. For many years he toured as a

regularly performing in comedy clubs and theaters across the UK and Europe. He was also one of the UK's most popular TV studio audience warm-ups.

Writing career

In 2003 his play, ''A Very Naughty Boy'' based on the life of

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

Graham Chapman Graham Chapman (8 January 1941 – 4 October 1989) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the Surreal humour, surrealist comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel (Monty Py ...

, won an

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

First award. It then had a national tour followed by a West End run at London's Soho Theatre. During this time he was also writing scripts for children's Television. His scripts having appeared on

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...

and The Disney Channel. In 2011 he created and wrote the highly rated

sitcom, '' White Van Man''. It held the record for being the highest rated launch of a comedy ever on the channel. In 2012 ''White Van Man'' returned for a second series with Adrian once again writing all the scripts. In 2012 he also worked on series two of supermarket sitcom '' Trollied'' for

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

. In 2013 White Van Man was remade in America as '' Family Tools'' for ABC with Poynton overseeing the show, writing episodes and serving as Co-Creator and Producer. Thirteen episodes were ordered on 11 May 2012, for the first season. It was later reported on 10 November 2012, that ABC cut their order from 13 episodes to 10 because of scheduling conflicts. ''Family Tools'' was canceled on 10 May 2013, after only two episodes had aired. However, the remaining episodes aired over the summer. He remained in America for almost the next decade working as a writer, producer and script editor before returning home to the UK. A big

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

fan, he has also contributed audio plays for the Big Finish

ranges, starting with the Fourth Doctor release, ''Dethras''. He also wrote for the spin-off ''Jenny – The Doctor's Daughter'' starring his friend and ''White Van Man'' actress Georgia Tennant.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poynton, Adrian Living people 1979 births English comedy writers British comedy writers British comedians British male writers British male television writers English screenwriters English male screenwriters English television writers English dramatists and playwrights