Daran Arthur Peter Little (born 11 May 1966) is a British television writer who has won a
BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
award and been nominated for an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
. He is the only writer to pen more than 100 episodes of both ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'' (2000–2010) and ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a British television 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 East End of London, the ...
'' (2010–).
Early life
Little was born to working class family and grew up on West End Road in
Ruislip Manor
Ruislip Manor is an area of Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London. It is located approximately west north west of Charing Cross.
The construction of a halt on the Metropolitan Railway in the area in 1912 led to the develop ...
. His grandfather was Romani. Through researching his genealogy, Little discovered he is a distant descendant of notable figures such as
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...
and
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
, as well as the Australian bush wrangler
Daniel Priest.
Little attended
Queensmead School. He went on to study at
Manchester Polytechnic
Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...
(now Manchester Metropolitan University).
Career
Early career
While at
Manchester Polytechnic
Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...
, he wrote his
dissertation about ''Coronation Street'' and
Tony Warren
Anthony McVay Simpson (8 July 1936 – 1 March 2016), publishing under the pen name Tony Warren, was an English television screenwriter and actor, best known for creating the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. He created other television dra ...
who became his mentor and insisted the producers gave him a job. After graduating, he was taken on by
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
as an archivist, when the previous incumbent of the job, Eric Rosser, left. He has written 11 books, both fiction and non-fiction, about the show and its characters and co-wrote
Betty Driver
Elizabeth Mary Driver (20 May 1920 – 15 October 2011) was a British actress and singer, best known for her role as Betty Williams in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', a role she played for 42 years from 1969 to 2011, app ...
's autobiography.
Little left Granada in 2006 after writing 95 episodes of ''Coronation Street'' and introducing the first gay character,
Todd Grimshaw
Todd Grimshaw is a fictional character from the British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', formerly played by Bruno Langley from 2001 to 2017, and now played by Gareth Pierce. The character's debut was broadcast on 14 Janua ...
. He created the characters
Sean Tully
Sean Tully is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Antony Cotton. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 13 July 2003. Following that appearance, the character returned f ...
,
Archie Shuttleworth
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' in 2002, by order of first appearance.
Hazel Wilding
Hazel Wilding first appears on 23 January 2002 when cab driver Vikram Desai (Chris ...
,
Bev Unwin and Eric Gartside who was played by
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born and raised in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford and later began working part-time as a stand-up comedian. In 199 ...
. He created, wrote and produced a 20-part series called ''
Hollyoaks: In the City'' for
Mersey Television
Lime Pictures, formerly known as Mersey Television, is a British television production company, founded by producer and writer Phil Redmond in the early 1980s. It produces drama and entertainment shows for the international market, including ' ...
. The series was not recommissioned for a second series. He joined the ''
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
'' writing team, writing 12 episodes before moving to New York to work on ''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...
''.
American ventures
ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime television programming block on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap o ...
hired him to be a
creative consultant on ''All My Children''. He worked closely with
Brian Frons
Brian Scott Frons (born June 15, 1956) is an American television executive and the former president of ABC Daytime. He is an adjunct professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and founder of Frons Consulting LLC.
Education
Frons earned a ...
,
Barbara Esensten,
James Harmon Brown,
Charles Pratt, Jr. and
Julie Hanan Carruthers
Julie Hanan Carruthers (born January 30, 1960, in Sarasota, Florida) is an American soap opera producer and writer.
Positions held
''All My Children''
*Executive Producer (October 27, 2003 - September 23, 2011)
''General Hospital''
*Senior Superv ...
. He was an
Associate Head Writer from 14 July 2008 to 2 November 2009.
In 2018, Little was hired as a
story consultant on the
CBS Daytime
CBS Daytime is the division of the CBS television network that is responsible for the daytime television block programming on the network's late morning and early afternoon schedule. The block has historically encompassed soap operas and game sh ...
soap opera ''
The Young and the Restless
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...
'', reuniting with
Mal Young
Mal Young (born 26 January 1957) is a British television producer, screenwriter and executive producer.
Career
Mersey TV
Young began his career in graphic design. At age 27, he began working in television on the Channel 4 soap opera '' Broo ...
. Little's first episode aired on 3 December 2018 and last aired on 19 March 2019.
Little, formerly a member of the
Writers Guild of America, East
The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is a trade union, labor union representing writers in film, television, radio, news, and online media.
The WGAE and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW), though independent entities, jointly brand the ...
, left and maintained
financial core status.
Back in Britain
In 2009, he returned to ''Coronation Street'', writing a further nine episodes. On 2 March 2010, it was confirmed that Little had left ''Coronation Street'' and joined its rival ''EastEnders''. In September 2010, his drama ''
The Road to Coronation Street'' was broadcast on BBC4, telling the story of ''Coronation Streets conception 50 years earlier, centering on Tony Warren. The drama won Best Single Drama at the
2011 BAFTAs and Royal Television Society and Little won the Best Scriptwriter at the
RTS North West Awards. In 2013, Little wrote a comedy pilot ''Kitten Chic'' about a psychotic
fag hag
A ''fag hag'' is, in gay slang, a woman who associates either mostly or exclusively with gay and bisexuality, bisexual men. The phrase originated in gay male culture in the United States and was historically an insult. Some women who associate ...
that aired on Sky Living and rejoined the writing team of ''Hollyoaks''. He rejoined ''EastEnders'' in 2013 as part of
Dominic Treadwell-Collins
Dominic Treadwell-Collins (born 26 August 1977) is a British television producer, known for his work on the soap operas ''Family Affairs'' and ''EastEnders'', creating the ''EastEnders'' spin-off series '' Kat & Alfie: Redwater'' and Executive P ...
' team, receiving acclaim for an episode where
Johnny Carter came out to his father Mick, played by
Danny Dyer
Danial John Dyer (born 24 July 1977) is an English actor and presenter. Dyer's breakthrough role was as Moff in ''Human Traffic'' (1999), with other notable roles Billy the Limpet in ''Mean Machine (film), Mean Machine'' (2001) and as Tommy J ...
.
Reality
Little worked as story producer on the first series of ITV2 structured reality show ''
The Only Way Is Essex
''The Only Way Is Essex'' (often abbreviated as ''TOWIE'' ) is a British reality television series based in Brentwood, Essex, England. It shows "real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way." Broadcast on ...
'' before helping to cast, set up and story produce all series of E4's BAFTA winning show ''
Made in Chelsea
''Made in Chelsea'' (abbreviated ''MIC'') is a British Scripted reality, structured-reality television series broadcast by E4 (TV channel), E4. ''Made in Chelsea'' chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London and South West a ...
''. He has worked as Story Executive on all 19 series and Summer specials. He is also an Executive Producer on ITV2's ''
The Real Housewives of Cheshire
''The Real Housewives of Cheshire'' (abbreviated ''RHOCheshire'') is a British reality television programme that premiered on ITVBe on 12 January 2015. Developed as the first British instalment in ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired ...
''.
From 2022 onward, Little has been involved in the production of Netflix reality shows ''
Young, Famous & African'' and ''
Dubai Bling''.
Personal life
Little is gay but married a woman when he was younger. "I'm gay and I got married in a church... to a woman... because I feared being gay in a world that didn't accept me. That was 25 years ago." He has two sons.
Later, Little had a civil partnership that was dissolved in 2014. He was then married to Canadian socialite Patrick Rankin until their divorce in 2023. Little moved to
Málaga
Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...
, Spain in 2023, after his London rent was hiked up.
Awards and nominations
*2006 - BAFTA nomination - ''Coronation Street''
*2009 - Emmy nomination - ''All My Children''
*2010 - Emmy nomination - ''All My Children''
*2011 - RTS winner Best Single Drama - ''The Road to Coronation Street''
*2011 - New York Film & TV Festival winner - Best International Programme - ''The Road to Coronation Street''
*2011 - BAFTA winner: Best Single Drama - ''The Road to Coronation Street''
*2011 - Broadcast Digital Awards: Best Scripted Program winner - ''The Road to Coronation Street''
*2011 - RTS North West winner: Best Scriptwriter - ''The Road to Coronation Street''
*2020 - Emmy nomination - ''The Young and the Restless''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Daran
1966 births
Living people
Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University
British soap opera writers
English archivists
English expatriates in Spain
English gay writers
English Romani people
LGBTQ people from London
Writers from the London Borough of Hillingdon
People from Ruislip
21st-century English LGBTQ people