Helen Black (writer)
{{Short description|English screenwriter and novelist}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Helen Black
|birth_name =
|image =
| nationality = British
|birth_date =
|birth_place =
|occupation = Screenwriter, author
| known_for = Life and Death in the Warehouse
}}
Helen Black is a British screenwriter and novelist, best known for her work on the BBC drama Time{{cite web|url=https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc/life-and-death-in-the-warehouse-writer-joins-bbc1s-time/5180957.article|title=Life and Death in the Warehouse writer joins BBC1’s Time|first=Ellie|last=Kahn|date=2023-04-11|website=Broadcast}} and the film Life and Death in the Warehouse.
Career
Black grew up in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. She studied Law at Hull University and worked as a solicitor for many years, with a specialty in childcare. Her experiences would inspire her to write a series of legal thriller novels, centering on lawyer Lily Valentine, beginning with Damaged Goods (2005).{{Cite web|url=https://rochellestevens.com/black/|title=Helen Black|date=March 5, 2018|website=Rochelle Stevens}} In 2017, Black won the Kudos North Award, for her television script Galaxy. This success led to her acquiring an agent and then writing on series such as Clink, Death in Paradise and Grantchester.
In 2022, BBC Three aired Black's film Life and Death in the Warehouse, about a pair of women working exploitative conditions in a distribution centre. Black had met Aysha Rafaele and Marco Crivellari at BBC Studios, at first developing a legal drama series. Subsequently, she was asked to work on a factual drama with director Joe Bullman, drawing from his research into the lives and mistreatment of British warehouse employees.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/entries/75014424-f0b8-4135-8585-47e348446fdd|title=Writing 'Life and Death in the Warehouse'|date=3 March 2022|website=BBC|accessdate=4 December 2022}} The film was nominated at the 2022 BAFTA Cymru Awards for Television Drama.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/cymru/nominations-2022|title=BAFTA Cymru Awards: Nominations 2022|date=7 September 2022|website=www.bafta.org|accessdate=4 December 2022}}
Black co-wrote the second series of Time with Jimmy McGovern, set in a women's prison. On Nov 6, 2023, it was announced that Black would adapt her 'Lily Valentine' books for television.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/asia/helen-black-lily-valentine-series-1235780471/|title=‘Time 2’ Writer Helen Black’s ‘Lilly Valentine’ Book ‘Damaged Goods’ Set for Series Adaptation From Studio Crook (EXCLUSIVE)|first=Naman|last=Ramachandran|date=November 6, 2023}} On Nov 27, 2023, it was announced that Black would write the mystery-thriller The Wives for Channel 5.{{Cite web|url=https://www.televisual.com/news/c5-orders-six-part-drama-from-gaumont-uk/|title=C5 orders six-part drama from Gaumont UK|date=November 27, 2023}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year ! Title ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes ! Broadcaster |
| 2019
| Clink | 1 episode |
| 2021
| 1 episode |
| 2022
| Life and Death in the Warehouse | TV Movie |
| 2023
| 1 episode |ITV |
| 2023
| Time | 3 episodes |
| 2024
| The Wives | Creator, 4 episodes | Channel 5 |
| 2024
| Joan | 1 episode |ITV |
| TBA
| Lilly Valentine | Creator | TBA |
Novels
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| Series
! Year ! Title | ||
|---|---|---|
| rowspan=6 | Lilly Valentine{{cite web |title=Helen Black |url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/helen-black/ |website=www.fantasticfiction.com |access-date=28 September 2024}}{{cite web |title=Helen Black |url=https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/helen-black/ |website=Book Series in Order |access-date=28 September 2024 |date=30 April 2017}}
| 2008 | Damaged Goods | |
| 2008 | Place of Safety | |
| 2009 | Dishonour | |
| 2011 | Blood Rush | |
| 2013 | Dark Spaces | |
| 2015 | Friendless Lane | |
| – | 2012 | Twenty Twelve |
| rowspan="4" | Liberty Chapman
| 2017 | Taking Liberties | |
| 2018 | Bang to Rights | |
| 2019 | Playing Dirty | |
| 2020 | Hard as Nails |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.hblack.co.uk/ Official Website]
- {{IMDb name|id=12216753}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Helen}}
Category:21st-century English women writers
Category:English women television writers
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)