Sarah Phelps is a British television

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, radio writer,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a 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 a ...

. She is best known for her work on '' EastEnders'', a number of BBC serial adaptations including

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's ''

The Witness For the Prosecution "The Witness for the Prosecution" is a short story and play by British author Agatha Christie. The story was initially published as "Traitor's Hands" in ''Flynn's'', a weekly pulp magazine, in the edition of 31 January 1925. In 1933, the story ...

'', ''

And Then There Were None ''And Then There Were None'' is a mystery fiction, mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, described by her as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 N ...

'', '' Ordeal by Innocence'', ''

The ABC Murders ''The A.B.C. Murders'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, featuring her characters Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings and Chief Inspector Japp, as they contend with a series of killings by a mysterious murderer know ...

'' and ''The Pale Horse'';

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

's ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

'' and ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...

''; and J. K. Rowling's '' The Casual Vacancy'', and work with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Career

Phelps has written over 90 episodes of ''EastEnders'', including the return of

Den Watts Dennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den". Den was the original landlord of The Queen Victoria public house ...

and his final demise, less than two years later. She wrote the screenplay for the BBC's 2011 Christmas costume drama adaptation ''

'' and the World War One drama series '' The Crimson Field''. The show was cancelled after one series due to middling ratings. In 2015, she wrote a

television adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...

of J. K. Rowling's '' The Casual Vacancy''. In 2020, BBC One commissioned ''The Sixth Commandment'', a true crime drama by Phelps about the murder of Peter Farquhar.

Christie adaptations

In 2015, Phelps's adaptation of

's ''

'' was broadcast. Reviewing it for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', Tim Martin found that, "The final episode of this bloody adaptation by Sarah Phelps did splendid justice to Christie's lightless universe, presenting an isolated mansion full of leaking corpses, in which the characters – quite understandably – freaked out in ways that no previous adaptation has countenanced."'' In 2016 ''

'' went to air, with a script based on the original short story rather than the later play on which other screen adaptations have been based. In April 2018, another of Agatha Christie's novels adapted by Phelps was broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

. '' Ordeal by Innocence'' had been pulled from the Christmas scheduling on BBC One after one of the leading actors in the drama miniseries was accused of sexual assault. The programme was re-shot with a new actor, Christian Cooke, replacing

Ed Westwick Edward Jack Peter Westwick (born 27 June 1987) is an English actor and musician best known for his role as Chuck Bass on The CW's ''Gossip Girl'' as well as Vincent Swan in the TV series ''White Gold''. He made his feature film debut in ''Child ...

. In June 2018 it was announced that the BBC were filming a Phelps adaptation of Agatha Christie’s

ABC Murders ''The A.B.C. Murders'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, featuring her characters Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings and Chief Inspector Japp, as they contend with a series of killings by a mysterious murderer know ...

starring John Malkovich as

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and '' Alibi''), and more ...

. In June 2019 it was announced that Phelps would write an adaptation of '' The Pale Horse''.

Filmography

Other work

Phelps's radio work includes ''Vital Signs II'', ''Cardamom'', ''The Collected Works of Billy the Kid'' and ''The Compass Rose: A Tattoo Lexicon''. Phelps also wrote for the World Service

Soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' Westway'' before joining the BBC in 2002. Her theatre projects include ''Tube'', ''Angela Carter'', ''The Subtle Art of Boiling Lobsters'', ''Amaretti Angels'' and '' Modern Dance for Beginners''.

References

External links

*
Sarah Phelps's agency CVBBC Writersroom interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Sarah Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) British women dramatists and playwrights British soap opera writers British television writers English women writers English television writers British women television writers English screenwriters Women soap opera writers 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights