Stephen Thompson (born 1967) is a British

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and screenwriter.

Background

Thompson studied at the University of Warwick. He gained a maths degree but also did some English studies in his third year. Thompson worked as a maths teacher for twelve years at Tiffin School, and was head of maths. Thompson left teaching in 2000 and became a full-time dad and house husband to his children. He has stated this was because his wife was earning much more money than him.

Career

In an interview, Thompson said "I took a sudden left turn and became a scriptwriter.” He trained on the

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...

playwrights' course, and his first play, ''Damages'', was performed at the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

in 2004, winning the

Meyer-Whitworth Award The Meyer-Whitworth Award was a literary prize established in 1991 and awarded from 1992 until 2011 to new British playwrights to help them further their careers. The £10,000 prize, one of the largest annual prizes for play writing in the UK, was ...

for new writing.Steve Thompson Profile
in ''The Guardian'', Retrieved 3 August 2010 In 2005, he was made Pearson writer in residence at the

where his next play ''Whipping It Up'' was also performed. ''Roaring Trade'' was performed by

Paines Plough Paines Plough is a British touring theatre company founded in 1974, currently led by artistic directors Charlotte Bennett and Katie Posner. The company commissions, develops and produces new plays for touring, and helps playwrights develop their ...

at the

Soho Theatre Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, and Soho Theatre Walthamstow in north-east London. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three pe ...

. His most recent play ''No Naughty Bits'' was performed at

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...

in September 2011. His first credit for television came on the medical soap ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'' in 2005. Since then, he has contributed scripts for several popular shows, including ''

Silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

'', '' Upstairs Downstairs'', ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', and the first three series of '' Sherlock'' (the latter two both in collaboration with

Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the second showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi television ser ...

). In 2016, he created the period drama series ''

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

'', which re-imagines the building of the

Ribblehead Viaduct The Ribblehead Viaduct or Batty Moss Viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle railway across Batty Moss in the Ribble Valley at Ribblehead, in North Yorkshire, England. The viaduct, built by the Midland Railway, is north-west of Skipton and s ...

. In April 2016, ITV confirmed that a second series of ''Jericho'' was not going to be commissioned. On 3 October 2018, it was announced that Thompson would be teaming with

Frank Spotnitz Frank Charles Spotnitz (born 1960) is an American television writer and film producer, producer. He is best known for his work on the series ''The X-Files'' (1995-2002) and its spin-off The Lone Gunmen (TV series), ''The Lone Gunmen'' (2001), an ...

to develop a drama about

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

. On 17 February 2019, it was revealed that Thompson was developing an adaptation of '' Runestaff'' for

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. On 16 August 2019, the BBC announced they would broadcast Thompson's adaptation of the popular Liebermann novels by Frank Tallis, '' Vienna Blood''. On 6 July 2020, Endor Productions and MR Film announced that a second series had been jointly recommissioned by ORF, ZDF, BBC and PBS. On 22 February 2022, a third series was commissioned.

Bibliography

* ''Damages'', Josef Weinberger Plays, 2004. * ''Whipping It Up'',

Nick Hern Books Nick Hern Books is a London-based independent specialist publisher of Play (theatre), plays, theatre books and screenplays. The company was founded by the former Methuen Publishing, Methuen drama editor Nicholas Hern in 1988. History Nick Hern ...

, 2006. * ''Roaring Trade'', Nick Hern Books, 2009. * ''No Naughty Bits'', Nick Hern Books, 2011.

Television writing credits

Personal life

Thompson is married to the media barrister Lorna Skinner and they have five children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Stephen Living people 1967 births Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of Warwick English male dramatists and playwrights English television writers English science fiction writers English male screenwriters British male television writers