Debbie Isitt facts for kids

Debbie Isitt is a talented English writer, film director, and performer. She is well-known for creating the popular Nativity! Christmas movies. She also writes screenplays, composes music, and writes song lyrics.

Early Life and Education

Debbie Isitt was born in Birmingham, England. She attended Our Lady of Fatima Primary School and then Lordswood Girls Secondary School. After that, she studied at Coventry University for two years, finishing her course in 1985.

Debbie Isitt's Career

Debbie Isitt is most famous for her fun Christmas comedy films, the Nativity! series. She has written and directed four of these movies.

Early Work in Theatre

After university, Debbie joined the Cambridge Experimental Theatre company. She toured Europe for a year, performing plays by William Shakespeare. Later, she started her own company called Snarling Beasties. For 15 years, she wrote, directed, and performed in plays that toured all over the world. In 2001, she adapted Dodie Smith’s book The Hundred and One Dalmatians for the stage.

Popular Films and TV Shows

Before the Nativity! films, Debbie wrote a TV show called The Illustrated Mum. This show won a BAFTA award. She also wrote a play called The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband and directed the movies Nasty Neighbours and Confetti.

Her third movie, Nativity!, came out in November 2009. It starred Martin Freeman and became the most successful British independent film that year. The next movie, Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger, starred David Tennant. It was released in November 2012 and earned twice as much money as the first film. Two more movies, Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey? and Nativity Rocks!, were released in 2014 and 2018. These films were also successful, even though critics had mixed opinions about them.

Debbie also directed the ITV series Love and Marriage. More recently, she wrote and directed the family comedy Christmas On Mistletoe Farm for Netflix. This film features actors like Scott Garnham, Scott Paige, and Kathryn Drysdale.

Musicals and Future Projects

In 2017, Debbie Isitt wrote, directed, and composed music for a stage musical. This musical was based on the first Nativity! film. It ran from October 20 to January 6 and starred Daniel Boys, Simon Lipkin, and Sarah Earnshaw. The show toured again in 2018 and 2019. Simon Lipkin returned as Mr. Poppy for the Hammersmith Apollo shows. The musical played at the Birmingham Rep during the 2022 Christmas season.

On March 21, 2023, it was announced that a new musical called I Should Be So Lucky would open later that year. This musical uses songs by Stock Aitken Waterman. Debbie Isitt wrote the original story and script for this show, and she also directed it.

Debbie Isitt is also set to direct a new musical called Military Wives. This show is based on the 2019 film of the same name. Debbie wrote the script for this musical too. It will have a limited run at The York Theatre Royal in September 2025.

Personal Life

Debbie Isitt has a long-term partner named Nicky Ager. Nicky works as the editor for Debbie's films. He also helps compose the music and write songs with her. They have a daughter named Sydney Isitt-Ager. Sydney appeared in the first three Nativity films.

Debbie was pregnant while filming her first movie, Nasty Neighbours. She still finished the film and took her two-month-old baby to the Cannes Film Festival for the movie's showing. Debbie Isitt is also a cousin of the footballer Darren Wassall.

Awards and Honours

In 2005, Debbie Isitt won a BAFTA award for Best Adapted Screenplay. She also won an International Emmy for her work on The Illustrated Mum.

Her film Confetti was nominated for an award at The British Comedy Awards.

The movie Nativity! won two Richard Attenborough Film Awards. It was also nominated as Best Breakthrough Movie at The National Movie Awards.

In 2023, Warwick University gave Debbie Isitt an honorary doctorate. This award recognized her work in supporting creative talent in the West Midlands. She is now known as a Doctor of Letters (DLitt).