Jeff Pope is a British

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

and

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 ...

who co-wrote the film '' Pierrepoint'' and the television drama '' The Fattest Man in Britain'' and who 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 ...

in 2006 for the drama '' See No Evil: The Moors Murders''.''See No Evil: The Moors Murders'' BAFTA Award
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

He is also the Head of ITV Productions Factual Drama. Pope wrote the screenplay for the 2018 film '' Stan & Ollie'', and co-wrote the 2022 film '' The Lost King''.

Career

Pope's first media job was as a

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

for the Ealing Gazette. He joined

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...

in 1983 as a researcher on '' The Six O'Clock Show''. In 1996 Pope was appointed Head of Factual Drama at LWT before moving to

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, ...

in the same role. He finally moved to ITV where he is Head of Factual Drama. Among Pope's television writing credits are ''Fool's Gold: The Story of the Brink's-Mat Robbery'' (1992), '' The Place of the Dead'' (1997), '' Essex Boys'' (2000), '' Bob Martin'' (2000), '' Dirty Filthy Love'' (2004), ''

Christmas Lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom ...

'' (2004), '' Pierrepoint'' (2005), '' Northern Lights'' (2006), ''

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American synchronized sound film, sound romance film, romantic comedy drama, comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a ...

'' (2007), '' The Fattest Man in Britain'' (2009) and '' The Widower''. As a producer, Pope's credits include ''Fool's Gold: The Story of the Brink's-Mat Robbery'' (1992), '' The One That Got Away'' (1996), '' The Show'' (1997), '' This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper'' (2000), '' Bob Martin'' (2000), '' Essex Boys'' (2000), ''

'' (2004), '' Northern Lights'' (2006), ''

'' (2007), '' Pierrepoint'' (2005), and '' The Fattest Man in Britain'' (2009). In addition to winning a

for the television drama '' See No Evil: The Moors Murders'' in 2007, Pope was also nominated in 2001 for ''My Beautiful Son'', and again in 2004 for '' Dirty Filthy Love''. In 2004 he appeared as himself in an episode of '' The South Bank Show''. Pope and

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English-Irish actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. His accolades include four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...

were nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, mus ...

at the

86th Academy Awards The 86th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2013 in film, films of 2013 and took place on March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5: ...

for writing ''

Philomena Philomena ( ), also known as Saint Philomena (; ) or Philomena of Rome ( 10 January 291 10 August 304) was a virgin (title)#Virgin martyrs, virgin martyr whose remains were discovered on May 24–25, 1802, in the Catacomb of Priscilla. Three ti ...

'' starring

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

and Coogan. In 2014, Pope wrote and produced '' Cilla'', a miniseries about the early career of

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her singles "A ...

, starring Sheridan Smith as Black. In 2015, Pope's contributions were recognised when he received the Alan Clarke special

award. Pope wrote the screenplay for '' Stan & Ollie'' (2018), a biographical comedy-drama film based on the lives of the comedy double act

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

, starring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly as

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel ( ; born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, director and writer who was in the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 sh ...

and Oliver Hardy. It premiered in October 2018 at the BFI London Film Festival and was released in the United States on 28 December 2018 and in the United Kingdom on 11 January 2019. In 2022, '' Archie'' a miniseries Pope wrote about

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...

, was commissioned by ITV. Pope executive-produced '' The Reckoning'' (2023), a mini-series about the crimes of Jimmy Savile, starring regular collaborator Steve Coogan as

Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English media personality and DJ. He was known for his eccentric image, charitable work, and hosting the BBC shows ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. A ...

. His series '' Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes'' is set to be released on Disney+ in 2025.

References

External links

*
'Pope's message - an interview with Jeff Pope' ''Broadcast Now'' 15 February 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Jeff Living people 1961 births BBC television producers Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners British male screenwriters British male television writers British television producers British television writers ITV people