Mike Bullen
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Michael J. Bullen (born 13 January 1960) is an English screenwriter best known for creating the
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, ...
series ''
Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...
'', which won him the Writer of the Year award at the 2003 British Comedy Awards. He wrote two more series for Granada; '' Life Begins'', which ran for three years, and ''All About George'', which ran for only one. His works have been described as being "about the intricacies of interpersonal relationships and what happens when they break down". Bullen moved with his wife and two children to Australia in 2002. Two years later he directed his first short film, ''Amorality Tale''. He co-created the Australian/UK television series '' Tripping Over'' in 2006 and the writer and director of the Australian television pilot ''Make or Break'' in 2007. He returned to producing work for British television in 2010 with the BBC pilot '' Reunited'', and moved back to the UK in 2011.


Background

Bullen was born in Bramhall, Cheshire.Simms, Sheryl (6 September 1999). "Just the job". ''Evening Standard'' (Associated Newspapers): p. 4.Wylie, Ian (23 September 2005)
"By George! Rik is on a roll"
''Manchester Evening News'' (M.E.N. Media). Retrieved 17 July 2008.
Bullen's father, Alex, was a chemical engineer, and his mother, Joan, was a housewife. Mike and his sister Jane were raised in
Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...
, where he attended Solihull School. At the age of 18 he was accepted to
Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...
,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, to read economics. He did not enjoy the subject, so switched to history of art. His first experiences of writing came when he was a child and wrote a newspaper for his neighbours. At Cambridge, he dramatised a
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
novel.Comerford, Mary (31 August 2006). "Writing drama from the heart". ''The Stage''. p. 26. Following his graduation, Bullen began a career as a media planner buyer for an advertising company. The job did not excite him and he has described it as "pretty pointless". He quit the job to go backpacking in south-east Asia. On his return he applied for a position as a radio producer at
Radio Netherlands Worldwide Radio Netherlands (RNW; ) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012. Its services in Dutch ended on 11 May 2012. Eng ...
, having previously worked for a hospital radio.Laws, Roz (19 November 2000). "Write Stuff!". ''Sunday Mercury'' (Trinity Mirror): p. 50. He eventually began freelance work for the
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
, where he was a presenter and producer for the magazine programmes ''On Screen'' and ''Outlook''.Strenske, Bettina (September 1997)
"Golden Rose of Montreux for Mike Bullen"
. London Screenwriters' Workshop. Retrieved 17 July 2008.


Career


1994–1997

In 1994, aged 34, Bullen began thinking about writing a television script, based on the idea that he could "write crap" on television. He was inspired in particular by the American television series '' Hill Street Blues'' (a show he "cancelled issocial life for"McLean, Gareth (20 November 2006)
"Mike Bullen's screen life"
''The Guardian'' (Guardian News & Media): p. 35.
) and '' Thirtysomething''. He began work on scripts for '' Pie in the Sky'' and ''
Soldier Soldier ''Soldier Soldier'' is a British television drama series. Created by Lucy Gannon, produced by Central Television and broadcast on the ITV network, it ran for a total of seven series and 82 episodes from 10 June 1991 to 9 December 1997. It ...
'' but did not complete either.Bullen, Mike (29 October 2000)
"Cold comfort fame"
''The Observer'' (Guardian News & Media): p. 2 (''Screen'' section).
To improve his writing skills, he took a writing course at the National Film and Television School, a comedy course by Anji Loman Field, and attended Robert McKee's STORY seminar. He began writing another script, this time drawing on his American television influences. Believing that there was nothing on British television for people in his age group that was not a soap opera or a costume drama, Bullen wrote a script entitled '' The Perfect Match'', about a man who proposes to his girlfriend using the screen at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
during the
FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...
. He secured an agent, who managed to sell the script on spec to Andy Harries, controller of comedy at
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, ...
. Harries described the writing as "impressive—cleverly constructed dialogue, very funny, well observed"Carter, Meg (9 November 1998)
"On Air: Our friends in the North"
''The Independent'' (Independent News & Media): p. 18 (features section).
and commissioned it as part of his drive to move away from making traditional-style sitcoms. Bullen described the moment he walked onto the set of ''The Perfect Match'' as "gobsmacking €¦wandering around a room which had previously only existed in my head". It was broadcast on ITV in September 1995 to poor reviews. Harries was pleased enough with Bullen's work to ask him to pitch some more ideas to ''The Perfect Match'' assistant producer
Christine Langan Christine Langan (born January 1965) is an English film producer who was appointed Head of BBC Films in 2009. In 2016, she left the role to become CEO of comedy television production company Baby Cow Productions. After graduating from Cambri ...
, who shared Bullen's desire to see more television directed at their age bracket. Bullen pitched the idea of a traditional "boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-wins-girl-back" story told from both sides of the relationship but using elements of fantasy and flashback to distort events to fit a character's point of view. Harries accepted the pitch and Bullen began work on ''
Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...
''. Initially commissioned as a pilot for ITV's '' Comedy Premieres'' programming strand, the prospect of a full television series was given to Bullen. ''Cold Feet''s main character, Adam Williams, a lothario character and a serial monogamist, was based on Bullen himself during his twenties. The other main character, Rachel Bradley, was based on a combination of his ex-girlfriends and the "ideal girlfriend". Harries suggested that if a series were to be commissioned, more characters would be needed. Bullen developed a supporting cast for ''Cold Feet'', basing each character on friends of his. The script for ''Cold Feet'' went through "six or seven" drafts before being filmed in 1996 and was broadcast in 1997. After a hiatus, it was commissioned for a full series. During the hiatus, he wrote a romantic comedy feature film script for Granada and developed a pilot for
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 ...
, neither of which were picked up. The
Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The u ...
presented to Bullen the award for New Writer of the Year at their awards ceremony in October 1997. When he first started writing professionally, Bullen could not structure his scripting in a coherent way, adopting a "mix and match" method; he began by structuring a script on cards, then typing what he had onto a computer, then returning to the cards. After completing the ''Cold Feet'' pilot, he starting writing ten pages of script per day, regardless of the quality of the writing. His own third draft was usually submitted to producers as the "first draft".


1998–2003

Production on the
first series First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
of ''Cold Feet'' began in January 1998. Bullen continued his method of developing storylines based on his own life; he and his wife had their first child in the latter half of 1997, so he integrated their experiences into the storyline of characters Pete and Jenny, who have their first child in ''Cold Feet''s first episode. Throughout 1998, he retained his job at the BBC, working on three radio shows per week at the same time as writing ''Cold Feet''. During the second series he cut back to one show per week. By the time of the third series in 2000, he felt confident enough that he would have a future in television that he was able to give up radio presenting completely. He moved from his home in London to Cambridge, where he was able to write for two full days a week and at evenings and weekends. Smith, p. 9. He worked on other projects at the same time as ''Cold Feet'': After watching the 1997
docusoap Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
''Holiday Reps'', he became interested in what happens in the personal lives of holiday representatives while in foreign countries. Out of this idea he developed ''
Sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin tha ...
'' for
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
. ''Sunburn'' starred
Michelle Collins Michelle Danielle Collins (born 28 May 1962) is a British actress. She is known for her role as Cindy Beale in the BBC soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (r ...
and was broadcast for two series from 1999 to 2000. Bullen shared writing duties with Lizzie Mickery and
Sally Wainwright Sally Anne Wainwright (born 1963) is an English television writer, producer, and director. She is known for her dramas, which are often set in her native West Yorkshire, and feature "strong female characters". Wainwright has been praised for th ...
. His inspiration from American television continued; following the premiere of ''
The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...
'' in 1999, he began outlining a British version, ''The Firm'', that would be set in
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
. The project never moved beyond planning stages because Bullen believed that British political issues such as "cod wars with Spain" are not as "sexy" as the issues covered in ''The West Wing''. In 1999, ''Cold Feet'' was adapted into a series of the same name for American network NBC. He wrote the screenplay for one of the pilot episodes. At the same time, NBC and Granada Entertainment USA commissioned a pilot script from Bullen entitled ''Small Beer'', which centred on a group of people who take over a microbrewery in the north-western United States.Dempsey, John (5 May 1999).
"Granada, NBC toast deal for pilot of ''Small Beer''"
''Variety'' (Reed Business Information). Retrieved 3 August 2008.
The third series of ''Cold Feet'' (2000) was extended from six to eight episodes by ITV. Bullen believed that the production team had covered all potential storylines in the first two series, so declined to write any more episodes. A team of five writers was hired by Granada Television, overseen by Bullen as a co-executive producer. Four out of the five writers left the team due to their scripts not being appropriate for the series, leaving only David Nicholls on staff. The writing process had made Bullen think twice about not writing and he began thinking about further storylines, such as mid-life crises and IVF. The same year, he signed a two-year contract with Granada to develop new projects. A fourth series of ''Cold Feet'', also of eight episodes, was commissioned for 2001. Bullen announced that he did not want to write a fifth series, and that the fourth would be the last. His reasons were that with ITV's proposed commission of up to 20 episodes a year, the series would become like a soap opera. The popularity of the fourth series persuaded Bullen to write four more episodes that formed the fifth series in 2003. The fifth series won Bullen the Writer of the Year Award at the 2003 British Comedy Awards. In 2002, he began developing '' Life Begins'', a one-hour television series. The following year he conceived ''George the Third''.Jury, Louise (18 February 2003)
"Best foot forward"
''The Independent'' (Independent News & Media): pp. 8–9 (''Media'' section).
He moved to Australia in 2002 but continued to work on UK-based series.


2004–2006

''Life Begins'' was inspired by Bullen's re-evaluation of the lives of people around him as they approached 40 years old. The series was designed as a
vehicle A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...
for actress Sarah Lancashire, who had signed an exclusive "
golden handcuffs Golden handcuffs, a phrase first recorded in 1976, refers to financial allurements and benefits that have the objective to encourage highly compensated employees to remain within a company or organization instead of moving from company to company ...
" deal with ITV.Deans, Jason (2 April 2002)
Cold Feet grows up
. MediaGuardian (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved 17 July 2008.
Two months after the series was announced, Lancashire left ''Life Begins'', feeling unable to commit to a potentially long-running series. ITV replaced Lancashire with Caroline Quentin.Davies, Ashley. (14 June 200
"Life Begins for ITV without Lancashire"
MediaGuardian (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved 17 July 2008.
''Life Begins'' concerns Maggie Mee, who believes she is in a loving relationship with her husband Phil (
Alexander Armstrong Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter, singer and farmer. He is the host of the BBC One game show ''Pointless'', and is a weekday morning-show presenter on C ...
). When Phil announces on a family holiday that he is leaving her, she realises that she must begin her life again. Bullen wrote the series with John Forte. The first series was broadcast in 2004. As with ''Cold Feet'', he integrated events from his own life into the storylines; Maggie's father suffers from
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
as does one of Bullen's own relatives. He researched Maggie's travel agency job by spending a week at a travel agents' in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
. In 2003 Bullen made a journey to
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
's Small Screen Big Picture. On the return leg, after 12 hours of seeing nothing but the
Nullarbor Plain The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of 'no' and 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its no ...
through the train window, he began developing a
short subject A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film or ...
on infidelity at television conferences.Prisk, Tracey (4 October 2004). "Cold Feet writer turns his hand to directing". ''Encore Magazine'' (RBI Australia): p.. The short, entitled ''Amorality Tale'', which marked Bullen's directorial debut, was screened at various film festivals in 2005, and was a finalist for the first Rosemount Diamond at the Jackson Hole Film Festival. On the themes of the film, Bullen said, "What has always interested me is the notion of ordinary people and how they react in ordinary situations €¦what fascinated me is the way we arrive at the choices we make. The idea of this film is to say that the choices we make might not lead to the outcomes we expect." He formerly expressed interest in directing an episode of ''Cold Feet'', but decided against it on the basis that his inexperience would make him "inadequate" and that the job was best left to professional directors. The short was produced by Pommie Granite Productions, a company set up by Bullen after his exclusive contract with Granada ended in September 2004. At the end of 2004, he became the seventh person to rewrite the script of the DreamWorks/
Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited, known simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England, United Kingdom. It is known for films and television series made using stop motion and clay animation techniques, particularly those fe ...
film ''Tortoise vs. Hare''. He made at least three drafts. Alongside the second series of ''Life Begins'', Bullen continued developing ''George the Third''. The title was changed to ''It Happens'' until eventually settling on ''All About George'' in time for filming in 2005. ''All About George'' starred Rik Mayall as George Kinsey, a builder whose life is changed when six generations of his family move into his home. Initially excited about the series when he attended the cast read-throughs, Bullen's optimism waned by the time it was broadcast as he felt there were too many characters and the series' premise unclear. In a 2008 interview, he describes it as one of his worst TV series. ''Life Begins'' returned for a third and final series in 2006. The same year, filming commenced on '' Tripping Over'', a series about intercontinental backpackers in 1976 and 2006. '' SeaChange'' writers Andrew Knight and Andrea Denholm conceived the idea in 2003 and asked Bullen, a friend of Knight's, to develop it with them. A co-production between Australia's Channel Ten and Britain's Five, ''Tripping Over'' was broadcast in both countries at the end of 2006.


2007–2012

In 2007, Bullen was approached by David Maher, a Fox World producer, who commissioned him to write a television pilot for
UKTV UKTV Media Limited, trading as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through a join ...
. Bullen agreed and spent a "torturous" time trying to come up with an idea for the script. Continuing his trend for taking ideas from real life, he decided to write about a family moving from the UK to Australia. The pilot, entitled ''Make or Break'', was also Bullen's television directoral debut.Williams, Fiona (6 December 2007).
Bullen dabbles in directing for UKTV drama pilot
. ''Encore Magazine'' (RBI Australia). Retrieved 17 July 2008.
British actor
Robson Green Robson Golightly Green (born 18 December 1964) is an English actor, singer-songwriter and television presenter. His first major TV role was as hospital porter Jimmy Powell in BBC drama series '' Casualty'' in 1989. He then went on to portray F ...
had recently completed work on "Prayer of the Bone", a one-off special episode of '' Wire in the Blood'' set in the United States. Green and ''Wire'' producer Sandra Jobling considered another special episode set in Australia. Green suggested asking Bullen to write the episode and Bullen responded by asking Green if he would like to play the lead in ''Make or Break''. Fox World sent the script to Green and he signed on. As the pilot was Bullen's first attempt at directing television, he sought advice from the experienced production crew, in particular the director of photography. The pilot was first broadcast in March 2008.Staff (15 March 2008). "Mike's Make or Break time". ''The Manly Daily'' (Cumberland Newspapers): p. 9 (''Weekend'' supplement). Bullen and Fox World sought financial investment from a UK production company to develop a full-length series. In 2010, Bullen wrote his first screenplay for the BBC since ''Sunburn''; '' Reunited'' is a pilot about six friends who once shared a house together reuniting after eight years. Bullen admitted that his career was "declining" before he made ''Reunited'', and he even moved back to the UK for five months while it was produced. He considers ''Reunited'' his best work since the end of ''Cold Feet''. The pilot received only 3.3 million viewers when it was broadcast, and a series was not commissioned.Laws, Roz (20 February 2011).
Ed Byrne talks about expensive whisky and dad dancing
. ''Sunday Mercury'' (Birmingham Post and Mail): p. 6.
Bullen has since discussed other projects with Ed Byrne, one of the actors in the pilot. Bullen and his family returned to the UK in 2011; Bullen told ''The Manly Daily'' "I realised if I still am going to have a UK-based television career I need to be based in the UK."Kay, Bryn (5 February 2011). "Perfect setting for an entertainer". ''The Manly Daily'' (NewsLocal): p. 3 (''Property'' supplement). As of 2012, Bullen has three television series in development with British television networks.


Personal life

Bullen is married to Lisa Bullen, whom he met while working at the BBC. They have two children: Maggie (born 1997) and Rachel (born 1999). In 2002 the family moved to Avalon, New South Wales. Smith, p. 13. They later moved to
Newport, New South Wales Newport is a suburb of northern Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of Northern Beaches Council. It is part of the Northern Beaches region. History Prior to European col ...
and became Australian citizens in 2005. The family returned to the UK in 2011.


List of works

;Screenplays * '' The Perfect Match'' (1995) * '' Comedy Premieres:
Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...
'' (1997, pilot) * ''
Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...
'' (1998–2003) * ''
Sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin tha ...
'' (1999–2000) * '' Life Begins'' (2004–2006) * '' All About George'' (2005) * ''Amorality Tale'' (2005) * ''Make or Break'' (2008, pilot) * '' Reunited'' (2010, pilot) ;Unmade scripts * ''Cold Feet'' (1998, American pilot) * ''Small Beer'' (1999, American pilot) * ''Tortoise vs. Hare'' (2004, feature film rewrite) ;Director credits * ''Amorality Tale'' (2005) * ''Make or Break '' (2008) ;Acting appearances * '' Comedy Premieres:
Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...
'' (1997) as Actor * ''
Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...
'' ** Series 1, Episode 1 (1998) as Man on Phone ** Series 1, Episode 2 (1998) as Neighbour ** Series 1, Episode 3 (1998) as Man in shower (scene deleted) ** Series 1, Episode 4 (1998) as Japanese Woman's Husband ** Series 3, Episode 8 (2000) as Workman ** Series 4, Episode 6 (2001) as Charles (uncredited) * '' Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback'' (2007) as TV Producer


References


Bibliography

* Tibballs, Geoff (2000). ''Cold Feet: The Best Bits…''. London: Granada Media. . * Smith, Rupert (2003). ''Cold Feet: The Complete Companion''. London: Granada Media. .


External links


Mike Bullen
at the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullen, Mike 1960 births Living people Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Alumni of the National Film and Television School BAFTA winners (people) English film directors English film producers English male screenwriters British television directors English television producers People educated at Solihull School People from Bramhall People from Solihull British television show creators