Neil Docking is a British writer, composer and producer who has worked in press, radio, film, theatre and television. A self-taught pianist and musician, he began his career playing in bars and clubs in his native Wales before studying at the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

where he began writing articles for the students' union magazine ('The Smoke'). In 1997 The

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

published some of his work and approached him to write a fictional column about student life (intended as a parody of

Bridget Jones's Diary ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire from a screenplay by Helen Fielding, Andrew Davies and Richard Curtis. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Fielding, which was itself a loose ...

) and soon 'Neil Docking's Diary' – a semi-

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

portrait of university life – appeared in the newspaper. In spite of some complaints about the portrayal of students, Docking was nominated for Feature Writer of the Year at the Guardian/NUS Media Awards in 1997. Following graduation, Docking moved briefly into music journalism before penning a short film script, ''Without a Song or a Dance'' (which he later also scored) intended to be considered by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

's newly established

Rocket Pictures Rocket Pictures is a British film company founded in 1996 by Elton John to produce family and music-themed film and TV projects. The company was established in 1996 with a ten-year first-look deal with The Walt Disney Company, a three-year deal ...

. It was rejected but was eventually produced by

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

(dir. Maxine Evans). The film opened the door for further script writing work first on the BBC Radio serial ''Station Road ''and then on the television series '' Nuts and Bolts'' for ITV1 Wales. He later worked as a writer,

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 ...

, storyliner and

story editor Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called supervising producer. The responsibilities of the story editor vary depending on the production; this article describes the duties the role most commo ...

on such long running British television shows such as ''Crossroads'''',

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

'' (ITV) and ''Casualty'' (BBC). In 2012 he wrote the screenplay and music score for an independent feature film musical ''Summertime'' (retitled 'Rain'), directed by Maxine Evans. In 2001, Neil Docking was shortlisted for the Dennis Potter Screenwriting Award.National Assembly Wales: Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Committee; CWLS(2)-06-03, Additional Background Material, p. 4

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Docking, Neil Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Welsh male writers Alumni of the University of Westminster Welsh male composers Welsh male television writers Living people