Simon Nye

Simon Nye (born 29 July 1958) is an English screenwriter, best known for television comedy.[1] He wrote the hit sitcom Men Behaving Badly, and all of the four ITV Pantos. He co-wrote the 2006 film Flushed Away, created an adaptation of Richmal Crompton's Just William books in 2010, and wrote the drama series The Durrells.[2]

Simon Nye
Born (1958-07-29) 29 July 1958
Burgess Hill, Sussex, England
Occupation(s)Writer, comedy
Years active1989–present
PartnerClaudia Stumpfl

Early life

Nye was born in Burgess Hill, Sussex. Nye was educated at Collyer's School and Bedford College, University of London, where he studied French and German.

He started his writing career as a translator, publishing translations of books on Richard Wagner, Henri Matisse and Georges Braque, before turning his hand to novel writing in 1989, with Men Behaving Badly. This was followed in 1991 by Wideboy, which he later adapted into the TV show Frank Stubbs Promotes.

Career

Men Behaving Badly

Nye's TV writing career began in 1990 when he was persuaded by producer Beryl Vertue to adapt his first novel for the small screen. The first two series of Men Behaving Badly were broadcast on ITV in 1992.[3][4] The show soon went on to achieve critical and commercial success, winning the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Situation Comedy in 1995, and the Royal Television Society Award for Best Situation Comedy/Comedy Drama in 1996. The show became the most-repeated comedy show in the 1990s.

Nye also appeared in the show, briefly playing a prospective tenant in the episode "Gary and Tony". He also played one of Gary's friends, Clive, in the episode where Gary and Dorothy plan to get married.

Other work

Though best known for sitcoms – such as Is It Legal? (starring Imelda Staunton), How Do You Want Me? (starring Charlotte Coleman and Dylan Moran), Hardware (starring Martin Freeman) and Carrie and Barry (a semi-sequel to Men Behaving Badly starring Neil Morrissey as a matured Tony in all but name) – he has also written comedy dramas such as Frank Stubbs Promotes (1993–1994), as well as literary adaptations such as The Railway Children (2000). In addition, he has written a number of comic adaptations of pantomimes including Jack and the Beanstalk (25 December 1998), Cinderella (2 January 2000), Aladdin (25 December 2000), and Dick Whittington (1 January 2002). He also wrote the short-lived 2001 sitcom The Savages, and contributed an episode to the 2010 series of Doctor Who, titled "Amy's Choice."[5][6]

Nye also continues to write translations, focusing in recent years on dramatic works. His translation of Molière's Don Juan was first performed at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 2001, and his translation of Dario Fo's Accidental Death of an Anarchist premiered at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 2003. He also wrote a pilot episode Felix and Murdo, which starred Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller.

He wrote the screenplay for the 2005 BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) of My Family And Other Animals based on Gerald Durrell's Corfu Trilogy. In 2016, Nye wrote ITV's The Durrells,[7] another adaptation of the trilogy, starring Keeley Hawes as Louisa Durrell.[8]

Nye wrote a play, The Crown Jewels, about the theft of the Crown Jewels by Thomas Blood, which was performed at the Garrick Theatre in London in 2023. The part of Blood was played by Aidan McArdle, and the cast included Al Murray as King Charles II, Neil Morrissey and Mel Giedroyc.

Filmography
Year Title Distributor
1992–1998 Men Behaving Badly ITV/BBC One
1993–1994 Frank Stubbs Promotes ITV
1995–1998 Is It Legal? ITV/Channel 4
1996–1999 My Wonderful Life ITV
1998–1999 How Do You Want Me? BBC Two
2000 The Railway Children ITV
2000–2001 Beast BBC One
2001 The Savages BBC One
2002–2004 Wild West BBC One
2003–2004 Hardware ITV
2004–2005 Carrie and Barry BBC One
2005 My Family And Other Animals BBC One
2009–2010 Reggie Perrin (with David Nobbs) BBC One
2010 Doctor Who – Amy's Choice BBC One
2010 Just William CBBC
2014 Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This ITV
2016–2019 The Durrells ITV
2018 The Sex Pistols Vs. Bill Grundy Sky Arts
2021 Finding Alice ITV
2021–2022 The Larkins ITV

Bibliography

Novels
  • Wideboy (1991) ISBN 0-670-83254-5
  • Men Behaving Badly (1989) ISBN 0-06-016069-1

Translations

References
  1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/08_august/20/cb_nye.shtml BBC Press Office biography
  2. "Early life of Gerald Durrell comes to TV screens soon". Jersey Evening Post. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  3. "BBC — Comedy — Men Behaving Badly". BBC. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  4. "Men Behaving Badly return for charity sketch". BBC News. BBC. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  5. French, Dan (26 February 2010). "Doctor Who to feature pregnancy plot?". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  6. Nissim, Mayer (10 May 2010). "Q&A: Simon Nye talks 'Amy's Choice'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  7. "U.K.'s ITV Recommissions Simon Nye's Hit Drama 'The Durrells'". 18 April 2016.
  8. O'Donovan, Gerard (3 April 2016). "Keeley Hawes is a ray of sunshine in the Durrells - review". The Telegraph.
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