I would like to thank, first and foremost, John Hay, my cowriter on the screenplay that started all this. I don’t know if it was your idea for someone to write the novelization, but thank you for stepping back and letting me do it my way. Even though we both know how much you love to ‘tweak’ my dialogue in the script. Thank you also to Eddie Izzard, who charmed the BBC, gave us the ending and stuck with us as we got the film going. Without the film there probably wouldn’t have been a book. So thank you also to Sue Nott, Anne Gilchrist, Connal Orton and Elliot Jenkins. Thank you to Eugenie Furniss at William Morris Endeavor, who has held my hand as I’ve found my way into a whole new world of creative writing, and to Lucinda Prain at Casarotto-Ramsey, who has guided me through every avenue of my professional life for several years now and I hope will carry on doing so for many years to come. I would be rather lost without you. Thanks also to Claudia Webb at WME for all her invaluable help and hard work. Thank you to Roisin Heycock, Niamh Mulvey and everyone at Quercus. You guys do the best meetings and I could not be happier that you’re publishing this. Thank you to Talya Baker for scrutinizing the manuscript so thoroughly and showing me how shockingly illiterate I really am. Thanks to Bill Nicholson for all your patient advice. Thank you to mum and David, who have always been supportive and encouraging and who have gone out of their way to help. I wouldn’t have got anywhere without such great parents. Thanks to Carl McAdam, Jason Cramer, Vincent Holland, Julius Brinkworth, Toby Merrett and George Arton, because what’s the point without great friends? And you lot are great! And last but by no means least, thank you to my amazing children, Joseph, Grace and Gabriel, Daddy loves you very much, to the world’s greatest dog, Harper, and to my beautiful, wonderful wife, Lisa.