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Jimmy McGovern (born 1949) is a BAFTA award-winning English television scriptwriter from Liverpool.

Early career[link]

McGovern started his career working on Channel 4's soap opera Brookside in 1982, tackling many real life social issues, namely unemployment - which was at a postwar high at the time.

Successes[link]

In 1993, he created the drama serial Cracker, about the work of a fictional criminal psychologist played by Robbie Coltrane. Made by Granada Television and screened on ITV, the series was a critical and popular success, lasting until 1995. Cracker also aired in the United States, on the Arts and Entertainment cable network. McGovern's writing earned him two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. In 1997 he created The Lakes, a drama that shared Brookside's realist setting and reused themes from Cracker such as gambling addiction. In 2006 he created the BBC One drama The Street, its third and final season aired in 2009.

He also wrote the script for the 1996 television docudrama Hillsborough, based on the events of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans at an FA Cup semi-final. Among the cast of this critically acclaimed drama was Christopher Eccleston, who also starred in Cracker, along with former Brookside actor Ricky Tomlinson.^[1]

Opinions[link]

McGovern has described cinema scriptwriters as being treated like hacks and forced to crank out countless drafts by successive producers. McGovern has openly criticised dramas like Footballer's Wives, lamenting the lack of quality, believable storytelling in the early 2000s. He also believes that television directors are underrated. He says: “I have worked twice with David Blair [on The Lakes and The Street], and I can tell you that he is the best there is. He can make a good project great... Why David hasn’t won the acclaim he deserves is a mystery to me.”^[2]

Musical[link]

McGovern has also completed a musical stage show called King Cotton, exploring links between the transatlantic slave trade and industrialisation in North West England, as part of the Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008. King Cotton premiered at The Lowry in September 2007 before moving to the Liverpool Empire.

Producer[link]

In 2009, McGovern was the executive producer on BBC One miniseries Moving On.

Current[link]

His new series, Accused started filming in May 2010. It follows a similar format to The Street but with a crime component. Scripts are written by McGovern, Danny Brocklehurst, Alice Nutter and two new writers. It is produced by Sita Williams. Series two will feature scripts from McGovern, Danny Brocklehurst and Shaun Duggan. With actors Sean Bean, Sheridan Smith, Anna Maxwell Martin, Robert Sheehan and Stephen Graham starring in the four single films.

Filmography[link]

As writer

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Jimmy McGovern at the Internet Movie Database
• In Conversation with Jimmy McGovern, BAFTA webcast
• Jimmy McGovern biography at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/nov/07/jimmy-mcgovern-tv-drama-irony