I’ve developed and written feature-length standalone stories, prequels, sequels and long-form serials. And being a director informs my writing enormously. Working at the coalface you quickly learn what’s helpful to actors and craftspeople. Dramatic storytelling relies on a sense of community, each of us doing everything we can to help the next person in the chain, and that process starts with the script.

NOT EVERY STORY IS LINEAR

My journey has been a winding one. My dad was a voracious reader and from a young age I’d pick up the books he’d finished. After art, English became my second strongest subject, and my short story assignments the only other top grades I could rely on. I soon realised something I enjoyed could be more than a hobby, but it wasn’t until much later I realised writing also gave me a voice.

At sixteen I went to art school where we studied semiotics, deconstructing films by Alfred Hitchcock and stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. It taught me how to interpret and communicate meaning and it’s now one of my greatest assets. After graduating I worked for a couple of years in advertising but it didn’t suit me so I took out a student loan and went to drama school, then worked as a labourer to pay off the debt. Throughout this period I began to see how easily people in positions of power take advantage of people who aren’t, and although I didn’t know it at the time, the foundations of my work as a writer and director were being laid.

Now, whether I’m writing an original story, an episode of an ongoing series or an adaptation, my writing challenges the notion of authority. I may not be able to do much about it in life, but I can damn well do it on the page.

Read more…

Working with Ken on Great Expectations was a delight. He came to the project with an incredible amount of knowledge and his energy was a great asset to the creative team. He’s also just a really nice guy to work with.

KATHERINE SENIOR, PRODUCER

He has strong storytelling instincts and is an insightful and inspiring collaborator, always pushing for the best possible end result.

MATT FITTON, WRITER AND SCRIPT EDITOR