Introduction
Sarah Deane (born 16 July 1972) is a British screenwriter noted for her collaborations with producer Colin McKeown and BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning dramatist, Jimmy McGovern.
Early life
Deane was born in the Mossley Hill district of Liverpool, England in July 1972. She was brought up in both Liverpool and Nottingham and has previously worked in the music industry and as a trivia question writer for pub quiz machines. In 1996, she was 'headhunted' from a public house after having been observed 'stealing' jackpots from quiz machines. The (Nottingham) company, Bell Fruit Games offered Deane a salary over-commensurate with what she would have won playing the quiz machines. The contract dictated she would not play any UK quiz machine for cash.
Deane wrote trivia questions for the company until 2001, when she left and established a freelance company - "The Questionmaster" - supplying similar trivia questions for numerous companies, including Bell-Fruit Games. The move to freelancing was to facilitate Deane's desire to write.
Career
In 2005, Deane won the TenPlay Scriptwriting Award for her short play, "The Banner", about a 'dad and lad' making a flag to take to the 2005 Champions League Final in Istanbul. The competition was judged by Brookside co-creator Colin McKeown and Jimmy McGovern, which resulted in Deane being given further opportunities to write on projects under McGovern's tutelage through McKeown's company LA Productions based at Liverpool Film Academy in Kirkdale, Liverpool.
Deane has since worked on several projects for McGovern, including Moving On which was broadcast on BBC1 in May 2009 - Series Two November 2010. Deane was the writer on Series 1; Episode 3 – "Drowning Not Waving", starring Richard Armitage and Christine Tremarco, and Series 2 Episode 9 - "Rules Of The Game". These series were produced by McKeown's LA Productions, which used its in-house team of local writers, including Deane, Karen Brown, Marc Pye, Esther Wilson and Arthur Ellison.
The second series of Moving On was broadcast on BBC1 w/c 1 November 2010, preceding McGovern's prime-time series, Accused, which was highly acclaimed. and also included Moving On writers, Esther Wilson and Alice Nutter.
A third series of Moving On is expected (2011). Deane wrote the episode (S2 E 9) "Rules Of The Game", starring Alfie Allen, Richard Fleeshman, Tony Booth and Paula Wilcox, concerning teenage alcoholism and the pressures of sibling rivalry. Allen, in particular, was singled out as a significant player, shadowing his more famous older sister, Lily Allen. The Radio Times, especially, highlighted Allen's pathos in the role as 'Dave', the forgotten younger brother.
The episode garnered an 87% positive response on the BBC statistical measure.
Personal life
Deane is a Liverpool FC supporter and attends most games. An autobiographical novel concerning her years of attending European away games is due for publication in 2011.