Jayne Kirkham

With structures solid and never flimsy,
Jayne Kirkham writes with warmth and whimsy
She’ll tackle most topics, so commissioner take heart:
Expect fun and adventure and the occasional...whatever it takes to get the job done.

I have developed and written for most formats: from animation to radio to app to picture book to live action feature for all ages.  Credits include Bing and Tee and Mo, and at the other end of the audience spectrum, the feature length adaptation of Marina Lewycka’s darkly comic political novel Two Caravans for production company Blue Zoo.   Original commissions include poetry and short stories for CBeebies to help their audience explore the wider world.  This work led to an exciting commission to write the interpretations for the brand-new museum of Blackpool: Showtown, to be opened in 2022.

I have an MA in Screenwriting, a BA (Hons) in Film and Drama and have worked as a script developer and consultant (most recently with HoHo Entertainment), and was a lecturer at the Northern Film School for fourteen years.

I am also a UKCC L2 paddlesport coach and was an outdoor activity worker for West Berkshire District Council, Princes Trust and the Scout Association, working with a range of young people including SEND teenagers and young offenders.

A member of BAFTA, I have served on Awards Juries for this and other organisations and was the Writers’ Guild children’s chair.  I am a Director of the Children’s Media Foundation, for whom I act as political liaison, writing questions for parliamentarians, contributing to inquiries, giving evidence to committees, as well as producing live events such as the annual Children’s Media Conference Question Time session (in 2020 I produced the online Creative Keynote given by children’s laureate Cressida Cowell).  In 2011 I formed the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Children’s Media and the Arts and continue to work closely with its co-chairs Baroness Floella Benjamin and Julie Elliott MP.

Summer 2020 would have been my third as canoe safari warden at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge: canoes, kids and coots!  But- Covid-19.  Instead I served there as WellybootLand Warden. And it was as wonderful as it sounds.



South West (Wessex)



Julian Friedmann
Blake Friedmann Literary Agency Ltd
15 Highbury Place
London
N5 1QP
julian@blakefriedmann.co.uk

Dog Years  (Live Action) Nelson Nutmeg Productions - Kidoodle.tv online Nov 2020
Judy on the Beach* (Performed Story) Showtown: Blackpool Council - online May 2020
Digitales* (series of stories ) CBeebies Radio - TX Nov 2019
ShowTown (Museum Interpretation) Showtown, Blackpool Council - T0 open 2022
History Heroes (Series Development) Educational Musicals Ltd - Summer 2019
Various (project development) Fettle Animation - Spring 2019
Tee and Mo (animation) PlugIn Media/CBeebies - Mar 2019
Who Was (Animated biographies) Fettle Animation/BBC Bitesize KS1 History - online Autumn 2018
Refugees* (Series of stories) CBeebies Radio - Online June 2018
Allergies* (Series of stories) Cbeebies Radio - Online Jan 2018
Treasure Champs(Live action) Three Arrows Media/Cbeebies - TX Nov 2018
Sounds of Colour*(series of poems/stories) Cbeebies Radio - online Nov 2017
Swish (series development) King Bee Animation - Jun 2017
Purple Palms (series development) Branscome International - Spring 2017
Two Caravans (Feature Length Animation) Blue Zoo Productions- in preproduction
Little Roy (Live Action) Jame Media/CBBC/CBeebies - TX Spring 2017
Tee and Mo (story app)  PlugIn Media/CBeebies - Jan 2015
Tee and Mo (series development and pilot) PlugIn Media/Cbeebies -Sept 2014
Remembering the War: Poppy's Day* (story) CBeebies Radio -TX Jun 2014
CBeebies Proms- Grumpy Cat* (story) CBeebies Radio - TX Aug 2014
Poems* CBeebies Radio - TX 2014
The Treasure of the Elephants* (Film development) Nature for Kids, NL -May 2014
Bing (animation) Acamar Films Ltd/CBeebies - TX Dec 2014
Bowerbird (Feature length live action) Artemisia Films Ltd - 2012
NOKSU  (animation) Epidem/Evergreen Entertainment Ltd YLE TV1 -TX spring 2012
Olive The Ostrich  (animation) Blue Zoo Productions/Nick Jnr - TX Sept 11
Roze and the Robots (feature length animation) Gravy Media - Jan 2011
Fei (feature length animation) Peach Blossom Media, Singapore - pre production 2009
Forever Friends:The Magic Star (animation) Hallmark Cards -online Dec 2008
Adrian's Wall* (series development) Brown & Sticky Productions Ltd - Apr 2008
XOL  (animation) Peach Blossom Media Singapore - Dec 2007
Driving Me Mad* (sketch show) CBBC - TX Jan 2007
Plenty of Spoons* (short film) UKFC/Screen South - Autumn 04
6.6.04* (short film) UK Film Council - Edinburgh Film Festival 2004
Byker Grove series 15(live action) Zenith North- TX 2003
Where The Skylarks Nest* (Radio Drama) Fiction Factory/BBC Radio4 - TX 2003
*Creator

Animation, Books, Childrens writing, Film, Online writing, Poetry, Radio, Short story, Television