Glenn Chandler
Encyclopedia
Glenn Chandler is an award-winning Scottish
playwright
and novel
ist. He has written plays for theatre and radio, original screenplay
s for television and films, television series, and novels. His best-known work is the Scottish television detective series Taggart
, which is broadcast around the world.
Glenn Chandler was born in Edinburgh in 1949 , and educated at the Royal High School
in the city. He moved from Scotland to London and began writing for the Soho Poly, where his early plays were produced. He went on to write for BBC
Television and Radio, and for Granada Television
(including its series Crown Court (TV series)
) before creating and writing his own series Taggart
for STV Productions (ITV Network
).
Chandler created Taggart for STV's Controller of Drama, Robert Love, who wanted to set a police series in Glasgow. Chandler was inspired by true crime and real life, and even lifted the names of characters for the series from gravestones in Maryhill
Cemetery in Glasgow. The series continued even after the death of the actor Mark McManus
, who played the lead role of Jim Taggart, and became the longest-running police drama on British television.
Chandler has has continued to write for his first love, theatre, and has also begun a series of books featuring a Brighton detective, DI Madden.
In 2008 Chandler took two plays to the Edinburgh Fringe
as a producer: Boys of the Empire, a satirical play written by Chandler himself, and What's Wrong With Angry?
, a drama set in 1992,
when the age of consent for homosexuals was 21., Both shows were directed by Patrick Wilde
, with whom Chandler shares a literary agentcy, MBA.
Radio Drama
Horror fiction
Non fiction
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist. He has written plays for theatre and radio, original screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s for television and films, television series, and novels. His best-known work is the Scottish television detective series Taggart
Taggart
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
, which is broadcast around the world.
Biography
Royal High School (Edinburgh)
The Royal High School of Edinburgh is a co-educational state school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, and has, throughout its history, been high achieving, consistently attaining well above average exam results...
in the city. He moved from Scotland to London and began writing for the Soho Poly, where his early plays were produced. He went on to write for BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Television and Radio, and for Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
(including its series Crown Court (TV series)
Crown Court (TV series)
Crown Court was an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television for the ITV network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wales, to 1984....
) before creating and writing his own series Taggart
Taggart
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
for STV Productions (ITV Network
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
).
Chandler created Taggart for STV's Controller of Drama, Robert Love, who wanted to set a police series in Glasgow. Chandler was inspired by true crime and real life, and even lifted the names of characters for the series from gravestones in Maryhill
Maryhill
Maryhill is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. The population of Maryhill is about 52,000. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road...
Cemetery in Glasgow. The series continued even after the death of the actor Mark McManus
Mark McManus
Mark McManus was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart in the long-running ITV television series Taggart for eleven years until his death.-Career:...
, who played the lead role of Jim Taggart, and became the longest-running police drama on British television.
Chandler has has continued to write for his first love, theatre, and has also begun a series of books featuring a Brighton detective, DI Madden.
In 2008 Chandler took two plays to the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
as a producer: Boys of the Empire, a satirical play written by Chandler himself, and What's Wrong With Angry?
What's Wrong With Angry?
What's Wrong With Angry? is a stage play written in 1992 by Patrick Wilde about a gay love story between two British schoolboys. The play was the basis for the 1998 Paramount Classics feature film Get Real.-History:...
, a drama set in 1992,
when the age of consent for homosexuals was 21., Both shows were directed by Patrick Wilde
Patrick Wilde
Patrick Wilde is an English playwright and screenwriter for both television and film.-Early work:Most of Wilde's early work was centred around the classics. He played Hamlet, Mark Antony for ATC and Amnon in Tirso de Molina’s Rape of Tamar at the Lyric in London...
, with whom Chandler shares a literary agentcy, MBA.
Television Writing
- TaggartTaggartTaggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
(1983 - PRESENT) STV - Dalziel and PascoeDalziel and Pascoe (BBC TV series)Dalziel and Pascoe is a popular British television crime drama based on the Dalziel and Pascoe books by Reginald Hill, which was first broadcast in March 1996. It is set in Yorkshire, and is about two detectives...
(2006) BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff... - Dr Crippen (2004) Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
- The Brides in the BathThe Brides in the BathThe Brides in the Bath is a 2003 Yorkshire Television film based on the life and Old Bailey trial of British serial killer and bigamist George Joseph Smith, the "Brides in the Bath Murderer". Martin Kemp plays the role of Smith, and Richard Griffiths plays barrister Sir Edward Marshall-Hall...
(2003) Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network... - A Is for Acid (2002) Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
- The Life and Crimes of William Palmer (1998) Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
- Chiller (1995) Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
- Call Me MisterCall Me MisterCall Me Mister is a revue with sketches by Arnold Auerbach and words and music by Harold Rome. The title refers to returning soldiers who expected to be addressed as civilians instead of by their military rank....
(1986) BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff... - Crown CourtCrown Court (TV series)Crown Court was an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television for the ITV network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wales, to 1984....
(1982–1984) Granada televisionGranada TelevisionGranada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful.... - DramaramaDramarama (TV series)Dramarama is the name of a British children's' anthology series broadcast on ITV between 1983 and 1989. It tended to feature drama of a science fiction or supernatural bent. The programme was administered by Tyne Tees Television in Newcastle, who had a track-record for organising cross-franchise...
(1983) STV - AngelsAngels (TV series)Angels was originally a British television seasonal drama series dealing with the subject of student nurses and was broadcast by the BBC between 1975 and 1978. The show's format then switched to a twice weekly soap opera format from 1979 to 1983. The show's title derived from the name of the...
(1975) BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff... - The Jewel and the Magpie Granada televisionGranada TelevisionGranada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
- The Kidnap of Mrs Muriel McKay Granada televisionGranada TelevisionGranada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
- To Kidnap a Princess Granada televisionGranada TelevisionGranada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
Films
- Deadly Advice (1994) Zenith ProductionsZenith ProductionsZenith Productions was a British independent film and television production company which made a number of drama series including Inspector Morse for ITV, and several series including Byker Grove and Hamish Macbeth for the BBC...
- True North
- Savage Tide (2004) Ecosse FilmsEcosse FilmsEcosse Films is a British film and television production company based in London. Ecosse Films is a multi award-winning company, specialising in high-quality drama for film and television, producing 11 films and over 300 hours of network television for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Showtime, Starz Channel...
- Final Sentence Ecosse FilmsEcosse FilmsEcosse Films is a British film and television production company based in London. Ecosse Films is a multi award-winning company, specialising in high-quality drama for film and television, producing 11 films and over 300 hours of network television for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Showtime, Starz Channel...
Theatre Writing
- On The Game (Little Theatre Club)
- The Private (Pitlochry Workshop Theatre, Soho Poly)
- Biker's Knoll (Directed by Brian CroucherBrian CroucherBrian Croucher is an English actor and director perhaps best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997, in the soap opera EastEnders....
) - A Treat (Directed by Brian CroucherBrian CroucherBrian Croucher is an English actor and director perhaps best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997, in the soap opera EastEnders....
at Brighton Actors' Workshop) - Moonlight Across the Heather (Directed by Brian CroucherBrian CroucherBrian Croucher is an English actor and director perhaps best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997, in the soap opera EastEnders....
) - A Curse (Directed by Brian CroucherBrian CroucherBrian Croucher is an English actor and director perhaps best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997, in the soap opera EastEnders....
, produced in Holland) - Boys of the Empire (Directed by Patrick WildePatrick WildePatrick Wilde is an English playwright and screenwriter for both television and film.-Early work:Most of Wilde's early work was centred around the classics. He played Hamlet, Mark Antony for ATC and Amnon in Tirso de Molina’s Rape of Tamar at the Lyric in London...
at the Edinburgh FringeEdinburgh FringeThe Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
and again at the King's Head Theatre) - Scouts in Bondage (Directed by Terence Barton at the King's Head Theatre)
BBC Radio
Schools Radio- Inquiry 7 scripts
- Life Time 2 scripts
- Teenage Plays: Job, Which Job?
Radio Drama
- A Little White Lie 30'
- Rough Play 60'
- Laddie Time 45'
- Another Gaff, Another Night 45'
- The Horseman's Word 30'
- Wallace's Warblers 30'
- Green Street Revisited 30'
- Fisherman's Tales 30'
- Wayfarers 30'
Books
DI Madden series- Dead Sight (Hodder & Stoughton, October 2004)
- Savage Tide (Hodder & Stoughton, July 2003)
Horror fiction
- The Sanctuary (Hamlyn)
- The Tribe (Hamlyn)
Non fiction
- Burning Poison (Lea Valley Press)
- Killer (Mainstream)
- Taggart's Glasgow (Lennard Publishing)
Awards
- BAFTA (1997) Taggart nominated for Best Drama Serial Award
- BAFTA (1995) nominated Best TV Writer
- Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award (1993) winner of Best Original Drama Serial
- BAFTA (1991) Taggart winner of Best Drama Serial Award