Jonathan Harvey comes from Liverpool and is a multi-award-winning writer of plays, films, sitcoms and Britain’s longest-running drama serial.
Jonathan’s theatre work includes the award-winning Beautiful Thing (Bush Theatre, Donmar Warehouse, Duke of York’s; winner: John Whiting Award; nominated: Olivier Award for Best Comedy), Babies (Royal Court Theatre; winner: Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright; winner: George Devine Award) and Rupert Street Lonely Hearts Club (English Touring Theatre, Donmar Warehouse, Criterion Theatre; winner: Manchester Evening News Award for Best New Play; winner: City Life Magazine Award for Best New Play). Other plays include Corrie! (Lowry Theatre and national tour; winner: Manchester Evening News Award for Best Special Entertainment), Canary (Liverpool Playhouse, Hampstead Theatre and English Touring Theatre), Hushabye Mountain (English Touring Theatre, Hampstead Theatre), Guiding Star (Everyman Theatre, Royal National Theatre), Boom Bang a Bang (Bush Theatre), Mohair (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs) and Wildfire (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs). Jonathan also co-wrote the musical Closer to Heaven with the Pet Shop Boys.
For television Jonathan has created and written three series of the BAFTA-nominated Gimme Gimme Gimme for the BBC, two series of Beautiful People (winner: Best Comedy, Banff TV Festival), the double-BAFTA-nominated Best Friends, Von Trapped! and Birthday Girl. He has also written for Rev (winner: BAFTA for Best Sitcom), Shameless, The Catherine Tate Show, At Home with the Braithwaites, Lilies and Murder Most Horrid. To date he has written over one hundred episodes of Coronation Street.
Jonathan’s film work includes Beautiful Thing for Film4 (Outstanding Film, GLAAD Awards, New York; Best Film, London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival; Best Screenplay, Fort Lauderdale Film Festival; Grand Prix, Paris Film Festival; Jury Award, São Paolo International Film Festival).
But perhaps most telling of all, he also won the Spacehopper Championships at Butlins Pwhelli in 1976.
His novels are All She Wants, The Confusion of Karen Carpenter, The Girl Who Just Appeared, The Secrets We Keep, The History of Us and The Years She Stole.