# Matthew Graham

Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos Film and Television science fiction series Life on Mars, which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim.

## Career

Graham began his career writing for the Children's ITV bicycle courier teen drama Streetwise in 1990, co-penning every episode of its second and third series. Following this, he moved to the BBC to write for fellow children's dramas Byker Grove and The Biz, as well as EastEnders. Graham then wrote for the popular BBC Two drama series This Life, and created and wrote the post-apocalyptic drama serial The Last Train for ITV. He also wrote episodes for Spooks and Hustle, and "Fear Her", an episode of the 2006 series of Doctor Who.
Ashes to Ashes, a Life on Mars sequel which he co-created with Life on Mars writer/co-creator Ashley Pharoah, was first broadcast on BBC One on 8 January 2008, to an audience of 7 million, according to overnight figures. In the US, ABC commissioned a remake of Life on Mars, also to be called Life on Mars, developed by David E. Kelley, creator of Ally McBeal, for broadcast in the 2007/08 midseason.
In 2006, Graham formed Monastic Productions with Pharoah (co-creator of Life on Mars). Monastic Productions are involved in the Life on Mars spin-off Ashes to Ashes, as well as in co-producing Bonekickers, a 6-part drama series about archaeology set in Bath. Both series are productions for BBC One. Bonekickers was not renewed after the first series, but Ashes to Ashes completed its third and final series in May 2010.
In November 2010, Graham announced the production of a new television series co-created with Pharoah for ITV. Eternal Law tells the story of two angels who are sent to Earth to assist in the salvation of mankind as lawyers in a York law firm. He also confirmed that he would be returning to the world of Doctor Who in 2011, writing the fifth and sixth episodes of the sixth series, a two-part story entitled "The Rebel Flesh" and "The Almost People".
His adaptation of the novel Childhood's End aired on Syfy in December 2015.
He wrote “The Hood Maker”, the first episode in the Channel 4/Amazon Video series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, which first aired in September 2017.

## Writing credits

| Production | Notes | Broadcaster |
| Streetwise | 14 episodes (1990-1992) | ITV |
| EastEnders | 12 episodes (1992–1995) | BBC One |
| Byker Grove | 6 episodes (1992) | BBC One |
| The Biz | 2 episodes (1995) | BBC One |
| This Life | 4 episodes (1996–1997): "Cheap Thrills" (1996) "Just Sex" (1996) "The Bi Who Came in from the Cold" (1997) "How to Get in Bed by Advertising" (1997) | BBC Two |
| Thief Takers | "One Last Hurrah" (1997) | ITV |
| City Central | "Justice to Be Done" (1998) "Throwing It All Away" (1998) | BBC One |
| The Last Train | 6 episodes (1999) | ITV |
| Reach for the Moon | Television miniseries (2000) | ITV |
| EastEnders | 9 episodes (2000–2002) | BBC One |
| EastEnders: Return of Nick Cotton | Television film (2000) | BBC One |
| The Gentleman Thief | Television film (2001) | BBC One |
| Impact | Television film (2002) | N/A |
| Spooks | "Spiders" (uncredited, 2003) | BBC One |
| POW | 6 episodes (co-written with Matt Jones, 2003) | ITV |
| Hustle | "Picture Perfect" (2004) "Confessions" (2005) | BBC One |
| Walk Away and I Stumble | Television film (2005) | ITV |
| Doctor Who | "Fear Her" (2006) "The Rebel Flesh" (2011) "The Almost People" (2011) | BBC One |
| Life on Mars | 16 episodes (2006–2007) | BBC One |
| Bonekickers | 6 episodes (2008) | BBC One |
| Ashes to Ashes | 24 episodes (2008–2010) | BBC One |
| Eternal Law | 6 episodes (co-written with Ashley Pharoah, 2012) | ITV |
| R'ha | Short film (2013) | N/A |
| Childhood's End | Television miniseries (2015) | Syfy |
| Kat & Alfie: Redwater | 1 episode (2017) | BBC One |
| Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams | "The Hood Maker" (2017) | Channel 4/Amazon Video |
| The Spanish Princess | 12 episodes (2019–2020) | Starz |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Work | Category | Result |
| 1997 | Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award | This Life | TV – Original Drama Serial (with Richard Zajdlic, Mark Davies Markham, Joe Ahearne, Ian Iqbal Rashid, Amelia Bullmore, Eirene Houston, Annie Caulfield, Jimmy Gardner and William Gaminara) | Won |
| 2006 | TV Quick Awards | Life on Mars | Best New Drama (with Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah) | Nominated |
| 2007 | British Academy Television Awards | Life on Mars | Best Writer | Nominated |
| 2007 | Broadcasting Press Guild Awards | Life on Mars | Writer's Award (with Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah) | Won |
| 2007 | TV Quick Awards | Life on Mars | Best Loved Drama (with Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah) | Nominated |
| 2007 | Edgar Allan Poe Awards | Life on Mars: "Episode 1" | Best Television Episode Teleplay | Won |
| 2007 | Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award | Life on Mars: Series 2 | Soap/Series (TV) (with Chris Chibnall, Mark Greig, Ashley Pharoah, Guy Jenkin, Tony Jordan and Julie Rutterford) | Nominated |
| 2008 | Banff Rockie Award | Life on Mars: "Episode 8" | Best Continuing Series (with S. J. Clarkson) | Nominated |
| 2008 | Cinéma Tous Ecrans | Ashes to Ashes | Audience Award for Best International Television Series (with Ashley Pharoah) | Won |
| 2008 | Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award | Ashes to Ashes | Television Drama Series (with Ashley Pharoah, Mark Greig, Julie Rutterford and Mick Ford) | Nominated |
| 2010 | TRIC Awards | Ashes to Ashes | TV Crime Programme (with Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah) | Nominated |
| 2010 | TV Quick Awards | Ashes to Ashes | Best Drama Series (with Ashley Pharoah) | Won |
| 2010 | Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award | Ashes to Ashes | Television Drama Series (with Ashley Pharoah, Julie Rutterford, Tom Butterworth, Chris Hurford, Jack Lothian and James Payne) | Nominated |
| 2011 | TRIC Awards | Ashes to Ashes | TV Drama Programme of the Year (with Ashley Pharoah) | Nominated |
| 2011 | SFX Awards | Ashes to Ashes: "Finale" | Best TV Episode (with David Drury) | Won |
| 2011 | Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award | Doctor Who | Best Television Drama Series (with Steven Moffat, Richard Curtis, Stephen Thompson, Gareth Roberts and Neil Gaiman) | Nominated |