Sarah Dollard (born 21 January 1980) is an Australian television screenwriter, living and working in the United Kingdom. She made her start in writing for television on the long-running Australian soap opera ''
Neighbours
''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...
'', before moving to the UK in 2008. She created and wrote the Welsh
romantic comedy series ''
Cara Fi
''Cara Fi'' (''Love Me'') is a Welsh romantic comedy-drama series that first broadcast in November 2014 on S4C, and was later made available on the BBC iPlayer. The eight-part series was created by Sarah Dollard. In 2015 the show was nominated f ...
'' (Love Me), which debuted on
S4C
S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...
in 2014.
In December 2020 it was announced that Dollard would adapt
Frances Hardinge
Frances Hardinge (born 1973) is a British children's writer. Her debut novel, '' Fly By Night'', won the 2006 Branford Boase Award and was listed as one of the ''School Library Journal'' Best Books. Her 2015 novel '' The Lie Tree'' won the 201 ...
's supernatural horror novel ''
Cuckoo Song'' for
Netflix.
She is
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nominated for her work as a Producer on ''
Bridgerton''.
Career
''Neighbours''
Dollard worked on ''
Neighbours
''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...
'' for four years, as a storyliner, a script editor, a story editor, and a writer of over thirty episodes.
Before leaving Australia, she also worked in script development for popular children's television series ''
The Saddle Club'', and in development on other children's shows with the
Australian Children's Television Foundation
The Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) is a national non-profit children's media production and policy hub.
The ACTF helps develop children's television policy; distributes and pays for Australian children's television series; ...
.
Move to the UK
After moving to the UK, Dollard began working in the script departments of British
fantasy and
science fiction TV shows. She worked on season two of
BBC One fantasy-
adventure series ''
Merlin
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
'', before moving on to ''
Primeval
Primeval may refer to:
* Primeval forest, an area of forest that has attained great age
* Primeval number, a positive integer satisfying certain conditions
* Primeval history, name given by biblical scholars to the first eleven chapters of the Bo ...
'' in 2010, where she script-edited seasons four and five of the sci-fi series and wrote all five episodes of the ''
Primeval
Primeval may refer to:
* Primeval forest, an area of forest that has attained great age
* Primeval number, a positive integer satisfying certain conditions
* Primeval history, name given by biblical scholars to the first eleven chapters of the Bo ...
'' web-series that introduced season four.
Dollard wrote the fifth episode of the fifth season of
Toby Whithouse's popular
BBC Three series ''
Being Human'',
featuring guest star
Kathryn Prescott, of ''
Skins'' fame.
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
called the episode, titled ''No Care, All Responsibility'', "the latest in a string of knockout episodes – sweet and chilling in equal measure". Dollard also penned the
webisodes that accompanied ''
Being Human'' season five,
focusing on the character of
Alex Millar, played by
Kate Bracken
Kate Bracken (born 12 June 1990) is a Scottish actress. Bracken is best known for her role as Alex Millar in '' Being Human''.
Early life
Bracken grew up just outside Fort William near the village of Spean Bridge. She attended Kilmonivaig Prim ...
.
She wrote episode three of
BBC spy
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
thriller
Thriller may refer to:
* Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television
** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre
Comics
* ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
''
The Game
The Game or The Games may refer to:
Sports and games
* The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig
* The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself
* ...
'', and co-wrote episode five with series creator
Toby Whithouse.
''Cara Fi'' and beyond
Dollard created and wrote her own
rom-com series ''
Cara Fi
''Cara Fi'' (''Love Me'') is a Welsh romantic comedy-drama series that first broadcast in November 2014 on S4C, and was later made available on the BBC iPlayer. The eight-part series was created by Sarah Dollard. In 2015 the show was nominated f ...
'' (Love Me) with Touchpaper Television, for the Welsh broadcaster
S4C
S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...
.
The eight episode series focuses on a sleepy seaside village in
Wales that runs out of women, so the locals advertise their single men on the side of milk cartons leaving the dairy. Each episode focuses on a new woman arriving in the village to be set up with a local man.
The show debuted in November 2014 on
S4C
S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...
, and was subsequently on the
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...
.
In 2015, she wrote the tenth episode of the
ninth series of ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', titled "
Face the Raven
"Face the Raven" is the tenth episode of the ninth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 November 2015, and was written by Sarah Dollard and directed by Justin Molotnikov.
...
".
She also wrote an episode of the UK-US co-produced comedy-drama ''
You, Me and the Apocalypse
''You, Me and the Apocalypse'' (working title ''Apocalypse Slough'') is a British-American comedy-drama miniseries. The series was green-lit on 8 January 2015. It debuted on Sky 1 on 30 September 2015 and on NBC on 28 January 2016. Sky 1 said ...
'', and ITV period drama
The Halcyon.
She returned to write the episode "
Thin Ice" for
Series 10
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used i ...
of
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
.
In 2018, she wrote the seventh episode for ''
A Discovery of Witches'', a television series based on the
novel trilogy of the same name by
Deborah Harkness.
In October 2018 it was announced that the show would be renewed for a 2nd and 3rd season with Dollard as one of the main script writers.
Dollard was a writer and producer on the first season of Netflix's historical romance series ''
Bridgerton''. The season was nominated for an
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for
Outstanding Drama Series, and Dollard is listed as a nominated producer.
In December 2016 it was announced that Dollard would adapt YA novel ''
Cuckoo Song'' for television.
Written by
Frances Hardinge
Frances Hardinge (born 1973) is a British children's writer. Her debut novel, '' Fly By Night'', won the 2006 Branford Boase Award and was listed as one of the ''School Library Journal'' Best Books. Her 2015 novel '' The Lie Tree'' won the 201 ...
, the novel was "the first YA book to win the British Fantasy Awards' top prize and was shortlisted for both the Carnegie Medal and the James Herbert Award".
In December 2020 it was announced that
Netflix had greenlit the series.
References
External links
*
Profileat The Perfect Blend
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dollard, Sarah
1980 births
Living people
Australian soap opera writers
British women television writers
Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom
British soap opera writers
British science fiction writers
21st-century British women writers
Women science fiction and fantasy writers
Women soap opera writers
21st-century British screenwriters
Australian women television writers