Douglas Watkinson

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Douglas Watkinson is an English novelist, playwright and screenwriter, specializing in crime and mystery.[1] His books feature the hard-bitten, soft-centred Nathan Hawk, a police officer who was 'required to retire' and now works as a private detective. Known for his wit and fiery temper, Hawk is on his seventh case. The first six books are entitled Haggard Hawk,[2] Easy Prey, Scattered Remains, Evil Turn, Jericho Road, and White Crane.

Career[edit]

Watkinson has written hundreds of scripts for television, contributing to Lovejoy, Boon, Juliet Bravo, Agatha Christie's Poirot and Midsomer Murders.[3] He also wrote the daytime drama For Maddie with Love. In 1984 he created the short-lived sitcom The New Statesman starring Windsor Davies. He has written four stage plays: Let's Do It My Way, Caesar and Me, The Dragon's Tail and The Wall[4]

Background and personal life[edit]

Watkinson was born into an army family and his father served throughout World War II and beyond. He was killed in Palestine by The Stern Gang in 1947.[5] His death is the inspiration for Watkinson's play The Wall,[6] in which a middle aged man visits a military cemetery in Ramleh, Israel and meets a young British soldier who turns out to be his father. Educated at Haberdashers' Aske's, Watkinson later attended East 15 Acting School, where his first plays were performed.

Writing[edit]

Watkinson began his career writing the backs of record sleeves for Decca and at the same time he bombarded television companies with plays. The first to be produced was a thirty-minute two-hander called Click, starring Ray Brooks and John Paul. Since then, he has never been out of work. He was the script writer for several BBC series, most notably Z-Cars, Howard's Way and The Brothers. His favourite work has been Midsomer Murders, Boon (for which he wrote the establishing episode), Lovejoy, Forever Green and Maybury (which was Kenneth Branagh's first on-screen appearance).

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Crime Fiction eBooks - Detective". Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  2. ^ "Haggard Hawk". www.goodreads.com.
  3. ^ "Midsomer Murders". www.midsomermurders.org.
  4. ^ ."The Wall". 8 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Douglas Watkinson - Mystery and Detective Crime Fiction Writer". Douglas Watkinson - Mystery and Detective Crime Fiction Writer.
  6. ^ www.t75.org. "IndieLondon: The Wall - New End Theatre - Your London Reviews". www.indielondon.co.uk.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links[edit]

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