Emma Jane Reeves is a Welsh screenwriter and playwright, best known for her extensive work in children's television series such as the ''

Tracy Beaker Tracy Beaker is a fictional character and the lead role of the ''Tracy Beaker'' franchise. After first appearing as the main character in Jacqueline Wilson's 1991 book '' The Story of Tracy Beaker'', she appeared in the children's television ...

'' franchise. She is currently Chair of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain.

Early life and education

Reeves grew up in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. She gained a First Class degree in English from

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

and an MA in creative writing from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

Career

Reeves has written extensively for theatre, including shows based on material she would also work on in television, such as ''Hetty Feather'' and ''The Worst Witch'', as well as adaptations of ''

Cool Hand Luke ''Cool Hand Luke'' is a 1967 American Prison film, prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Paul Newman and featuring George Kennedy in an Academy Awards, Oscar-winning performance. Newman stars in the title role as Luke, a pri ...

'' and ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...

''. In 2005, she moved into television, gaining her first credit on BBC One's ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

''. She became a prolific children's writer following working on '' The Story of Tracy Beaker'', writing for series like '' Half Moon Investigations'', ''

Chuggington ''Chuggington'', also known as ''Chuggington: Tales from the Rails'' in series 6, is a British animated television series aimed at pre-school children, produced by Ludorum plc and Herschend Entertainment Studios. It is broadcast on the BBC's ...

'' and ''

Young Dracula ''Young Dracula'' is a British children's horror drama comedy television series which aired on CBBC, loosely based on '' Young Dracula'', a 2002 children's book by Michael Lawrence. It is also based on the epistolary novel ''Dracula'', writ ...

''. She would return to the ''Tracy Beaker'' franchise several times, writing for ''

Tracy Beaker Returns ''Tracy Beaker Returns'' is a British television programme. Based upon the novels by Jacqueline Wilson, it is the sequel series to '' The Story of Tracy Beaker''. The series stars Dani Harmer reprising her role as protagonist Tracy Beaker. Th ...

'', spin-off ''

The Dumping Ground ''The Dumping Ground'' (also informally referred to as ''The DG'') is a Television in the United Kingdom, British children's television series, children's television drama series that focuses on the lives and experiences of young people who ...

'' and in 2021, ''

My Mum Tracy Beaker ''My Mum Tracy Beaker'' is a British children's television miniseries that premiered on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on 12 February 2021. The show was aired the week after ''The Dumping Ground''s eighth series concluded. The series follows on from the ...

''. This was followed by ''

The Beaker Girls ''The Beaker Girls'' is a British children's television series that premiered on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on 13 December 2021. The series follows on from the events of its predecessors, '' The Story of Tracy Beaker'', ''Tracy Beaker Returns'', ''Th ...

'' that same year. In 2015, she co-created with David Chikwe the CBBC science-fiction series ''

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

''. It starred Poppy Lee Friar and follows the adventures of a

gynoid A gynoid, or fembot, is a feminine humanoid robot. Gynoids appear widely in science fiction films and arts. As more realistic humanoid robot design becomes technologically possible, they are also emerging in real-life robot design. Just like an ...

, a female android, named Eve (also known as ''Project Eternity'') living with a family in

suburbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

, trying to make sense of human life as a teenage girl. It concluded on 14 December 2016 with an hour-long episode, which was later split into two parts when it was repeated in January 2017. Reeves developed and wrote a new adaptation of ''

The Worst Witch ''The Worst Witch'' is a series of children's books written and illustrated by English author Jill Murphy. The series are primarily about a girl named Mildred Hubble who attends a witch school and fantasy stories, with eight books published. ...

'', which ran for four series between 2017 and 2020. She would win 'Best British Children's Television' at the British Screenwriters' Awards for her work. In 2019, she helmed a sequel-reboot of '' The Demon Headmaster'' for CBBC. While well received, it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reeves returned to adult drama in 2024, writing on the period drama '' The Hardacres''. Reeves has written audio plays for the Big Finish ''

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 ...

'' ranges, starting with ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British-American science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect i ...

: Forgotten Lives '' in 2015. She also wrote for the spin-offs ''The Diary of River Song'' and ''The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield ''. Outside of the UK, Reeves co-wrote the

Lifetime Television Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...

movie ''

The Murder of Princess Diana ''The Murder of Princess Diana'' is a 2007 Lifetime movie, directed by John Strickland and starring Jennifer Morrison as an American reporter. The film was based on the book by Noel Botham. Reg Gadney and Emma Reeves wrote the teleplay. ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, Emma Living people Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Alumni of the University of East Anglia 21st-century British women writers 21st-century Welsh women writers Welsh women dramatists and playwrights Welsh women screenwriters Welsh television writers Welsh science fiction writers British women television writers British women science fiction and fantasy writers Year of birth missing (living people)