Barry Simner

Barry Simner was born and brought up in London. He studied drama at The Central School of Speech and Drama, Linguistics at London University and taught English for sixteen years in Inner London Comprehensive Schools. He was Head of English at The Pimlico School, Westminster, before leaving to work as a freelance writer in 1987. He has written for radio, the stage and television. Barry now lives in Wales with wife Jo and daughter Lowrie.

His first work for the stage, PLAYING THE MAN, was produced at Salisbury Playhouse in 1988 and he was co-writer on the Channel 4, Italian State TV co-production, OCTOPUS ? POWER OF THE MAFIA in 1988/99.

MIXING IT, a one-hour drama set in a comprehensive school and starring Art Malik, Jemma Redgrave and Andrew Sachs, was produced for Channel 4 in 1990. Between 1991 and 1993 he wrote sixteen of the thirty two episodes of Central TV's Asian 'soap? FAMILY PRIDE and the screenplay for MORWENNA, a film set in Wales and dealing with issues of nationality and immigration.

He has tutored extensively on creative writing courses for The Arvon Foundation, Taliesin Trust and numerous education authorities and taught in both primary and secondary schools on The Poetry Society's Poets in Schools scheme.

His poetry has appeared in many established magazines and he was a prizewinner in the 1989 and 1996 Arvon/Observer International Poetry competitions.

His book, CAN WE WRITE A PLAY ?, a collection of playwriting ideas for use in s chools, is published by Hodder & Stoughton. His stage play, THE CABINET OF DOKTOR CALIGARI, opened at Nottingham Playhouse before transferring to The Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. He has contributed to Zenith's BYKER GROVE, and written regularly for THE BILL. Barry co-devised THE VICE for Carlton and has written several episodes for the series. His latest commissions include an original two-parter for Tiger Aspect and a series for Touchpaper Television, which Barry has co-devised with Rob Pursey and Roger Gray.

1986 TANDOORI NIGHTS ? situation comedy, Channel 4 Television.

1987 PLAYING THE MAN ? One man play about the life of Robert
Baden-Powell. Salisbury Playhouse.

NOWHERE TO PLAY ? For BBC Schools Radio

1988 OCTOPUS ? POWER OF THE MAFIA ? Police drama series. Ten
of sixteen one-hour episodes adapted from Italian into English
for Channel 4 Television.

1989 MIXING IT ? single drama for Channel 4 with Art Malik, Andrew
Sachs and Jemma Redgrave.

1989 Winner of Duncan Lawrie Poetry Prize, Arvon/Observer
International Poetry Competition.

1990-91 FAMILY PRIDE - (Six episodes), Central TV.

1991-92 FAMILY PRIDE - (Ten episodes), Central TV.

1993 THE BILL - (Seventeen episodes), Thames Television

1994 WE WRITE IT AS A PLAY ? ? a handbook of playwriting ideas
for use in schools, published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.

1994 CABINET OF DOKTOR CALIGARI ? starring Matthew Kelly for
Nottingham Playhouse and The Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith.

1994 Shortlisted for first prize in the Arvon/Observer International
Poetry Competition.

1994 BYKER GROVE - Zenith for CBBC

1996/7 Commissioned to develop a drama series for World Productions.

1997-2003 Co-devisor and principal writer on Carlton's THE VICE. (five
series)

2000-2001 Co-devised and wrote a pilot script for an original TV series for
Rob Pursey's Touchpaper Television.

2001-2002 I TOLD YOU SO - Completed and delivered an original 2-part TV
serial for Tiger Aspect Productions and the BBC

2002 STARHUNTER - Canadian co-production

2003 MIDSOMER MURDERS (Bentley Productions) THE GHOSTS OF
SLEATH (Bentley Productions)

2004 HOLBY CITY - (One Episode), BBC One

2005 HOLBY CITY - (One Episode), BBC One

2005 SINGLE HANDED - Pilot Script for RTE/Touchpaper

2006 GREAT WHITE HOPE - Pilot Script for BBC Drama Series/
Touchpaper

2007 SINGLE HANDED - Series 2 for RTE/Touchpaper

2008 SINGLE HANDED - Series 3, for RTE/Touchpaper
‘The Drowning Man’ has completed shooting in Connemara

2008 SINGLE HANDED - Series 4, for RTE/Touchpaper
has been commissioned