Steven Moffat facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Steven Moffat OBE
Moffat in 2017
Born	Steven William Moffat (1961-11-18) 18 November 1961 (age 63) Paisley, Scotland
Occupation	Television writer, television producer, and screenwriter
Alma mater	University of Glasgow
Period	1988–present
Genre	Comedy, drama, adventure, science fiction
Spouse	Sue Vertue ​ (m. 1997)​
Children	2

Steven William Moffat (born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish writer and producer for television. He is famous for his work on the BBC science fiction show Doctor Who (from 2010 to 2017). He was the main writer and showrunner (the person in charge of the show's daily production). He also helped create and write the BBC crime drama Sherlock (from 2010 to 2017). In 2015, Steven Moffat received an award called the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his great work in drama.

Born in Paisley, Scotland, Steven Moffat was a teacher before he became a TV writer. His first TV show was a teen drama called Press Gang. He later wrote a sitcom, Joking Apart, which was inspired by his first marriage ending. In the 1990s, he wrote Chalk, based on his own time as an English teacher.

Steven Moffat has always been a big fan of Doctor Who. In 1999, he wrote a funny short episode called The Curse of Fatal Death for a charity event called Comic Relief. In the early 2000s, his sitcom Coupling was based on how his relationship with TV producer Sue Vertue grew. They later got married.

In 2004, it was announced that Steven Moffat would write for the new Doctor Who TV series. He wrote six episodes between 2005 and 2008. These episodes won him several awards, including three Hugo Awards. While working on Doctor Who, he also wrote and produced Jekyll. This was a modern drama based on the classic story Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In 2008, Steven Moffat became the main writer and showrunner for Doctor Who. Around the same time, he decided not to work on a film series about Tintin with director Steven Spielberg. However, some of his writing was used in Spielberg's 2011 film The Adventures of Tintin.

In the 2010s, Steven Moffat mainly worked on Doctor Who (from series five to ten) and Sherlock. For these shows, he won more awards, including another Hugo and two Primetime Emmy Awards. More recently, in the 2020s, he wrote Dracula (2020) and Inside Man (2022). He also wrote the sci-fi romance mini-series The Time Traveler's Wife (2022) and the comedy-drama Douglas Is Cancelled (2024). In 2024, he returned to write two more episodes for Doctor Who.

Early life and education

Steven Moffat was born in Paisley, Scotland. He went to Camphill High School there. He then studied at the University of Glasgow. While at university, he was involved with the student television station. After earning a degree in English, he worked as a teacher for about three and a half years. In the 1980s, he wrote a play called War Zones and a musical called Knifer.

Career highlights

Press Gang

Steven Moffat's father, Bill, was a head teacher. He told TV producers about an idea for a show about a school newspaper. The producers asked for a script, and Bill said his son Steven should write it. Producer Sandra Hastie said it was the "best ever first script" she had read.

The show was called Press Gang. It starred Julia Sawalha and Dexter Fletcher. It ran for five series on ITV from 1989 to 1993. Steven Moffat wrote all 43 episodes. The show won a BAFTA award for its second series.

During the second series of Press Gang, Steven Moffat was going through a difficult time in his personal life. This inspired an episode called "The Big Finish?". He included a character named Brian Magboy in the episode. This character had many unlucky things happen to him, like a typewriter falling on his foot.

Joking Apart

By 1990, Steven Moffat had written two series of Press Gang. However, the show was very expensive, and its future was uncertain. A director from Press Gang, Bob Spiers, suggested he meet with producer Andre Ptaszynski to write a sitcom.

Steven Moffat first suggested a show about a school, similar to what became Chalk. But during their meeting, he talked a lot about his marriage ending. The producer suggested he write about that instead. Steven Moffat's new idea was about "a sitcom writer whose wife leaves him." He wrote two series of Joking Apart. The show won an award called the Bronze Rose of Montreux.

He also wrote three episodes for Murder Most Horrid. This was a series of funny mystery stories starring Dawn French.

Doctor Who short stories

Steven Moffat has been a fan of Doctor Who since he was a child. In 1995, he wrote a small part for a Doctor Who novel. His first full Doctor Who story was "Continuity Errors." It was published in a book in 1996.

Chalk

In 1996, Steven Moffat met TV producer Sue Vertue. They started a relationship and later joined Hartswood Films, Sue's mother's company. They have two children together.

Before joining Hartswood, Steven Moffat wrote Chalk. This was the school-based sitcom idea he had earlier. It was set in a school and starred David Bamber. The show was based on Steven Moffat's three years as an English teacher. The BBC ordered a second series because the first was so popular with the studio audience. However, critics were not as keen when it aired in 1997.

The Curse of Fatal Death

In 1998, Steven Moffat was asked to write a funny Doctor Who sketch. It was for Comic Relief, a charity event. The sketch, The Curse of Fatal Death, was written and filmed in early 1999. It was shown on BBC One in March.

Coupling

When Sue Vertue asked Steven Moffat for a sitcom, he decided to base it on their own relationship. Coupling was produced by Sue Vertue. It first aired on BBC Two in 2000.

Coupling ran for four series, with 28 episodes in total, until 2004. Steven Moffat wrote all of them. He also wrote the first episode for a U.S. version of Coupling. However, the U.S. version was not as successful and was cancelled quickly. Steven Moffat felt this was due to too much interference from the TV network.

Doctor Who and Jekyll

In December 2003, Steven Moffat was asked to write for the revived Doctor Who series. He wrote six episodes for the show between 2005 and 2008. These were produced under executive producer Russell T Davies.

Steven Moffat won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for his Doctor Who stories. These included "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" (2005), "The Girl in the Fireplace" (2006), and "Blink" (2007). "Blink" also won him a BAFTA Craft Award for Best Writer.

Between Doctor Who episodes, Steven Moffat wrote and produced Jekyll. This was a modern drama series based on the classic story Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It aired on BBC One in June 2007.

Doctor Who and Sherlock

In May 2008, the BBC announced that Steven Moffat would take over from Russell T Davies. He would become the lead writer and executive producer (showrunner) of Doctor Who. This began with the show's fifth series in 2010. He had been discussing this role since July 2007.

While traveling for Doctor Who, Steven Moffat and writer Mark Gatiss came up with an idea. They wanted to update Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories for modern times. This became the show Sherlock. Sue Vertue encouraged them to start working on it.

Steven Moffat was very involved in choosing the actors for Doctor Who. He helped cast Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor. As the Doctor Who showrunner, he won another Hugo Award for "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang" (2010).

For Sherlock, Steven Moffat won a BAFTA Craft Award for "A Scandal in Belgravia" (2012). He also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for "His Last Vow" (2014). He won another Emmy for producing "The Abominable Bride" (2016).

In June 2015, Steven Moffat was given the title Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to drama. In January 2016, he announced he would leave Doctor Who after the 2017 series. Chris Chibnall took over from him. The last series of Sherlock aired in January 2017. Steven Moffat's final Doctor Who episode as showrunner was "Twice Upon a Time" in December 2017.

In March 2024, Steven Moffat confirmed he would write for Doctor Who again. He was credited as both writer and Executive Producer for the episode “Boom”.

Dracula

In October 2018, BBC One and Netflix ordered a new TV series called Dracula. It was written and created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. It was based on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel. The series started airing on New Year's Day 2020.

The Unfriend

On 13 February 2020, a theatre announced a new play by Steven Moffat. It was called The Unfriend. Its first show was planned for 2020, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The play finally opened on 26 May 2022. It was directed by Mark Gatiss. After a successful run, the play moved to London theatres in 2023 and 2024.

Writing credits

Television

Film

Stage

Awards and nominations

Images for kids

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  Moffat records DVD commentary for Joking Apart (2006)

See also

In Spanish: Steven Moffat para niños

• Category:Works by Steven Moffat