Arthur Hopcraft facts for kids

Arthur Hopcraft (born November 30, 1932 – died November 22, 2004) was a talented English writer. He was famous for writing exciting TV shows. He also adapted many well-known books into TV series. Before writing for television, he was a sports journalist. He wrote about football for big newspapers. These included The Guardian and The Observer. He also wrote five books. One book was about his own childhood. He even wrote the script for the movie Hostage. In 1985, Arthur Hopcraft won a special award. It was the BAFTA writer's award.

Arthur Hopcraft's Life and Work

Arthur Hopcraft was born in Shoeburyness, Essex, England. When he was young, his family moved to Cannock, Staffordshire. As a teenager, he started working for local newspapers. By age 17, he was already reporting on football games. He used the nickname "Linesman" for his sports stories. He covered the semi-professional games of the Stafford Rangers team.

From Newspapers to TV

After serving in the military, Arthur worked for the Daily Mirror newspaper in Manchester. Later, he moved to The Guardian. His work as a journalist took him to many places. He had assignments in west Africa, India, and Brazil. In the mid-1960s, he also began writing about football for The Observer. From 1968, he wrote regularly for a magazine called Nova. His articles often shared stories from his own life experiences.

Arthur Hopcraft became very well known for his TV writing. He wrote original TV plays, like The Nearly Man. He was also a master at adapting books for television. Some of his famous adaptations include:

• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• Hard Times
• Bleak House
• Rebecca

His work helped bring many classic stories to life on the small screen. He was a very important writer in British television.