Steven Moffat

Scottish television writer and producer (born 1961)

Steven Moffat

OBE

Moffat in 2017

Born| Steven William Moffat
(1961-11-18) 18 November 1961 (age 63)[1]
Paisley, Scotland
Occupation| Television writer, television producer, and screenwriter
Alma mater| University of Glasgow
Period| 1988–present
Genre| Comedy, drama, adventure, science fiction
Spouse|

Sue Vertue

(m. 1997)​

Children| 2[2]

Steven William Moffat (/ˈmɒfət/;[3] born 18 November 1961)[1] is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the second showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi television series Doctor Who (2010–17), and for co-creating and co-writing the BBC crime drama television series Sherlock (2010–17). In the 2015 Birthday Honours, Moffat was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama.[4]

Born in Paisley, Scotland, Moffat, the son of a teacher, was formerly a teacher himself.[5] His first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage. Later in the 1990s, he wrote Chalk, inspired by his own experience as an English teacher. Moffat, a lifelong fan of Doctor Who, wrote the comedic sketch episode The Curse of Fatal Death for the Comic Relief charity telethon, which aired in early 1999. His early-2000s sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his relationship with television producer Sue Vertue.

In March 2004, Moffat was announced as one of the writers for the revived Doctor Who TV series. He wrote six episodes during Russell T Davies' first era as head writer, which aired from 2005 to 2008. Moffat's scripts during this era won him three Hugo Awards, a BAFTA Craft Award, and a BAFTA Cymru Award. Between episodes, he wrote and produced the modern-day drama series Jekyll, based on the novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In May 2008, it was announced that Moffat would succeed Davies as showrunner, lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who. Around the same time, he dropped his contract with film director Steven Spielberg for a film trilogy based on artist Hergé's character Tintin. Part of the lone script he wrote was used in Spielberg's film The Adventures of Tintin, eventually released in 2011.

Moffat's work in the 2010s consisted mainly of his period as the head writer of Doctor Who during the fifth through tenth series, in which he won another Hugo, and Sherlock, which won Moffat a BAFTA Craft Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. In the 2020s, he wrote the BBC and Netflix drama co-productions Dracula (2020) and Inside Man (2022), the HBO sci-fi romance mini-series The Time Traveler's Wife (2022), and the ITV comedy-drama Douglas Is Cancelled (2024). In 2024, he returned to Doctor Who to write two episodes for Davies' second tenure as showrunner.

## Early life

[edit]

Moffat was born in Paisley, Scotland,[5] where he attended Camphill High School.[6] He studied at the University of Glasgow, where he was involved with the student television station Glasgow University Student Television.[7] After gaining a Master of Arts degree in English from Glasgow,[8] he worked as a teacher for three and a half years at Cowdenknowes High School, Greenock.[9] In the 1980s he wrote a play entitled War Zones (performed at the 1985 Glasgow Mayfest and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe[10]) and a musical called Knifer.[11] He is an atheist.[12]

## Career

[edit]

### Press Gang

[edit]

Moffat's father Bill was a head teacher at Thorn Primary School in Johnstone, Renfrewshire;[2] when the school was used for Harry Secombe's Highway in the late 1980s, Bill mentioned to the producers that he had an idea for a television series about a school newspaper. The producers asked for a sample script, to which Bill agreed on the condition his son Steven write it.[2][13][14] Producer Sandra Hastie said that it was "the best ever first script" that she had read.[15] The resulting series was titled Press Gang, starring Julia Sawalha and Dexter Fletcher, and it ran for five series on ITV between 1989 and 1993, with Moffat writing all forty-three episodes. The programme won a BAFTA award in its second series.[16]

During production of the second series of Press Gang, Moffat was experiencing an unhappy personal life as a result of the break-up of his first marriage. The producer was secretly phoning his friends at home to check on his state.[17] His wife's new lover was represented in the episode "The Big Finish?" by the character Brian Magboy (Simon Schatzberger), a name inspired by Brian: Maggie's boy. Moffat brought in the character so that all sorts of unfortunate things would happen to him, such as having a typewriter dropped on his foot.[18]

### Joking Apart

[edit]

Moffat records DVD commentary for Joking Apart (2006)

By 1990, Moffat had written two series of Press Gang, but the programme's high cost along with organisational changes at backers Central Independent Television cast its future in doubt.[18] As Moffat wondered what to do next and worried about his future employment, Bob Spiers, Press Gang's primary director, suggested that he meet with producer Andre Ptaszynski to discuss writing a sitcom.[19] Inspired by his experience working in education, Moffat's initial proposal was a programme similar to what became Chalk, a sitcom set in a school that eventually aired in 1997.[20] During the pitch meeting at the Groucho Club, Ptaszynski realised that Moffat was talking passionately about his impending divorce and suggested that he write about that instead of a school sitcom.[20] Taking Ptaszynski's advice, Moffat's new idea was about "a sitcom writer whose wife leaves him".[21] Moffat wrote two series of Joking Apart, which was directed by Spiers and starred Robert Bathurst and Fiona Gillies. The show won the Bronze Rose of Montreux[19] and was entered for the Emmys.[22]

He wrote three episodes of Murder Most Horrid, an anthology series of comedic tales starring Dawn French. The first ("Overkill", directed by Spiers) was identified by the BBC as a "highlight" of the series.[23] His other two episodes were "Dying Live" (dir. Dewi Humphreys) and "Elvis, Jesus and Zack" (dir. Tony Dow).[24][25]

### Doctor Who short fiction

[edit]

Moffat has been a fan of Doctor Who since childhood.[26] In 1995, he contributed a segment to Paul Cornell's Virgin New Adventures novel Human Nature.[27] His first solo Doctor Who work was a short story, "Continuity Errors", published in the 1996 Virgin Books anthology Decalog 3: Consequences.[28]

### Chalk

[edit]

Between marriages, Moffat claims that he "shagged [his] way round television studios like a mechanical digger."[2] According to an interview with The New York Times, Moffat met television producer Sue Vertue at the Edinburgh Television Festival in 1996.[29] Vertue had been working for Tiger Aspect, a production company run by Peter Bennett-Jones. Bennett-Jones and his friend and former colleague Andre Ptaszynski, who had worked with Moffat on Joking Apart, told Moffat and Vertue that each fancied the other. A relationship blossomed and they left their respective production companies to join Hartswood Films, run by Beryl Vertue, Sue's mother.[14] The couple have two children together: Joshua and Louis Oliver.[2]

Before Moffat left Pola Jones for Hartswood, Ptaszynski produced Chalk, the series that the writer had pitched to him at the beginning of the decade.[14] Set in a comprehensive school and starring David Bamber as manic deputy head Eric Slatt and Nicola Walker as Suzy Travis, the show was based on Moffat's three years as an English teacher.[13] The studio audience responded so positively to the first series when it was taped that the BBC commissioned a second series before the first had aired. However, it was met less enthusiastically by critics upon transmission in February 1997, who had taken exception to the BBC's publicity department comparing the show to the highly respected Fawlty Towers.[14] In an interview in the early 2000s, Moffat refuses to even name the series, joking that he might get attacked in the street.[30]

After production wrapped on Chalk in 1997, Moffat announced to the cast that he was marrying Vertue.[31]

### The Curse of Fatal Death

[edit]

In late 1998, Moffat was approached by Vertue, a producer of Comic Relief, to write a comedic sketch based on the Doctor Who TV series to be aired across Comic Relief's 1999 telethon in several parts on BBC One.[28] The sketch, The Curse of Fatal Death, was written from December 1998 to February 1999,[32] recorded in February,[33] and broadcast in March.[34]

### Coupling

[edit]

When Vertue asked Moffat for a sitcom, he decided to base it around the evolution of their own relationship.[citation needed] Coupling, produced by Vertue, was first broadcast on BBC Two in 2000.[35] Coupling ran for four series totalling 28 episodes until 2004, all written by Moffat. He also wrote the original, unbroadcast pilot episode for the U.S. version, also titled Coupling, although this was less successful and was cancelled after four episodes on the NBC network. Moffat blamed its failure on an unprecedented level of network interference.[35]

### Doctor Who in the Russell T Davies era and Jekyll

[edit]

In December 2003, Moffat received an email offering him to write for Doctor Who, following the announcement of the revival of the series in September.[36] His involvement with the series was announced in March 2004.[37] He wrote six episodes under executive producer Russell T Davies for the 2005 through 2008 series,[35] which were produced from December 2004 to March 2008.[38][39] Moffat won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for the two-part story "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" (both 2005), as well as the episodes "The Girl in the Fireplace" (2006) and "Blink" (2007).[40][41][42] "Blink" also gained him the BAFTA Craft Award for Best Writer,[43] and a BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Screenwriter.[44]

Between Doctor Who episodes, Moffat wrote and produced Jekyll, a modern-day drama series based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, meaning he nearly missed out on writing for the 2007 series of Doctor Who.[45] Written late in the series' run, he quickly based "Blink" on his previously-written Doctor Who short story from 2005, "What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow", as "a desperate way to keep a toehold" in the 2007 series.[46] Jekyll aired on BBC One from June 2007.[47]

In March 2008, Davies said that he often rewrote scripts from other writers, but did not "touch a word" of Moffat's episodes.[35]

### Doctor Who and Sherlock

[edit]

In October 2007, Reuters reported that Moffat would be scripting a trilogy of films based on Belgian artist Hergé's character Tintin for directors Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson.[48]

In May 2008, the BBC announced that Moffat would be succeeding Davies as lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who for the show's fifth series, to be broadcast in 2010,[49] although Davies had initiated discussions with Moffat regarding this as far back as July 2007.[50] He had intended to complete work on the Tintin trilogy before resuming work on Doctor Who, but delays caused by the intervening 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike meant he could only submit part of a script for the first film.[51] Moffat told The Guardian in 2012 that Spielberg was "lovely" about his decision to walk away from his three-film Tintin contract to return to Doctor Who.[52] The script for the first film in the trilogy, The Adventures of Tintin (released in 2011), was completed by Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish,[citation needed] with a part of Moffat's script used in the film.[52]

During their journeys from London to Cardiff for Doctor Who, Moffat and writer Mark Gatiss conceived a contemporary update of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories called Sherlock. Vertue advised them to work on the project rather than spend years discussing it. A 60-minute pilot, written by Moffat, was filmed in January 2009.[53] The pilot was not aired but a three-episode series of 90-minute television films produced by Hartswood was commissioned.[54][55]

Production on Moffat's time in charge of Doctor Who began in July 2009.[56] As executive producer and lead writer, he was significantly involved in casting both Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor.[57] As Doctor Who showrunner, Moffat won another Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for writing the two-part story "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang" (both 2010).[58] As showrunner for Sherlock , he won a BAFTA Craft Award for Best Writer for "A Scandal in Belgravia" (2012),[59] a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for "His Last Vow" (2014),[60] and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie for executive producing "The Abominable Bride" (2016).[61]

In June 2015, Moffat was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to drama.[62] In January 2016, Moffat announced he was stepping down as Doctor Who lead writer and executive producer after the 2017 series, his sixth series as showrunner, with Chris Chibnall succeeding him at the start of the eleventh series for broadcast in 2018.[63] The fourth and most recent series of Sherlock finished production around August 2016,[64] and aired in January 2017.[65] "Twice Upon a Time"—the 2017 Doctor Who Christmas special, and Moffat's last episode as lead writer and showrunner—finished production in July 2017 and broadcast on Christmas that year.[66]

In March 2024, Moffat confirmed his return to writing for Doctor Who in Series 14.[67] On the episode “Boom” he was credited as both writer and as an Executive Producer.

### Dracula

[edit]

In October 2018, BBC One and Netflix officially commissioned Dracula, a TV series written and created by Moffat and Gatiss based on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.[68] In March 2019, Moffat revealed that the first night of production was about to start.[69] The series began airing New Year's Day 2020, and was broadcast over three consecutive days. The three episodes were released on Netflix on 4 January 2020.[70]

### The Unfriend

[edit]

On 13 February 2020, Chichester Festival Theatre announced that the play The Unfriend, written by Moffat, was intended to have its world premiere as part of the 2020 Festival Theatre season in the Minerva Theatre.[71] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the play's opening night was postponed until 26 May 2022. It was directed by Mark Gatiss and featured Amanda Abbington, Frances Barber, Reece Shearsmith, and Michael Simkins. Following a successful run in Chichester, the play transferred to the Criterion Theatre, London, in January 2023, and thence, with Sarah Alexander as Debbie, and Lee Mack as Peter, to Wyndham's Theatre in January 2024.

## Writing credits

[edit]

### Television

[edit]

Production  | Notes  | Broadcaster

|
|

Press Gang |

43 episodes (1989–1993)

| ITV
Stay Lucky |

"The Devil Wept in Leeds" (1990)

Joking Apart |

13 episodes (1991–1995)

| BBC Two
Murder Most Horrid |

* "Overkill" (1994)
* "Dying Live" (1996)
* "Elvis, Jesus and Zack" (1999)

Chalk |

12 episodes (1997)

| BBC One
Doctor Who |

50 episodes, 34 Minisodes/Prequels (1999, 2005-2017, 2024):

As guest writer

* The Curse of Fatal Death (Comic Relief Minisode,1999)
* "The Empty Child" / "The Doctor Dances" (2005)
* "The Girl in the Fireplace" (2006)
* "Blink" (2007)
* "Time Crash" (Children in Need Minisodes, 2007)
* "Silence in the Library" / "Forest of the Dead" (2008)
* "The End of Time" (1 uncredited scene, 2010)[72]
* "Boom" (2024)
* "Joy to the World" (2024)

As showrunner

* "The Eleventh Hour" (2010)
* "The Beast Below" (2010)
* "The Time of Angels" / "Flesh and Stone" (2010)
* "The Pandorica Opens" / "The Big Bang" (2010)
* "The Boy Who Saved the Proms" (Doctor Who Proms Minisode, 2010)
* "Meanwhile in the TARDIS: Part One" / "Meanwhile in the TARDIS: Part Two" (Minisodes, 2010)
* "A Christmas Carol" (2010)
* "Dermot and the Doctor" (National Television Awards Minisode, 2010)
* "Space" / "Time" (Comic Relief Minisodes, 2011)
* "Prequel to The Impossible Astronaut" (Prequel, 2011)
* "The Impossible Astronaut" / "Day of the Moon" (2011)
* "A Good Man Goes to War: Brain Trafficking" (Prequel, 2011)
* "A Good Man Goes to War" (2011)
* "Prequel to Let's Kill Hitler" (Prequel, 2011)
* "Let's Kill Hitler" (2011)
* "Prequel to The Wedding of River Song" (Prequel, 2011)
* "The Wedding of River Song" (2011)
* "The Naked Truth" (Children In Need Minisode, 2011)
* "Night and the Doctor": "Bad Night" / "Good Night" / "First Night" / "Last Night" (Series Minisodes, 2011)
* "Prequel to The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" (Prequel, 2011)
* "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" (2011)
* "Prequel to Asylum of the Daleks" (Prequel, 2012)
* "Asylum of the Daleks" (2012)
* "The Angels Take Manhattan" (2012)
* "The Great Detective" (Children In Need Prequel, 2012)
* "Vastra Investigates: A Christmas Prequel" (Prequel, 2012)
* "The Snowmen" (2012)
* "The Battle of Demons Run: Two Days Later" (Prequel, 2013)
* "The Bells of Saint John: A Prequel" (Prequel, 2013)
* "The Bells of Saint John" (2013)
* "She Said, He Said: A Prequel" (Prequel, 2013)
* "The Name of the Doctor" (2013)
* "Clarence and the Whispermen" (Prequel, 2013)
* "The Night of the Doctor" (Minisode, 2013)
* "Body Swap" (Doctor Who Prom Minisode, 2013)
* "Clara and the TARDIS" (Minisode, 2013)
* "The Inforarium" (Minisode, 2013)
* "The Last Day" (Minisode, 2013)
* "Cinema Introduction to The Day of the Doctor" (Prequel, 2013)
* "The Day of the Doctor" (2013)
* "The Time of the Doctor" (2013)
* "Prequel to Deep Breath" (Prequel, 2014)
* "Deep Breath" (2014)
* "Into the Dalek" (with Phil Ford, 2014)
* "Listen" (2014)
* "Time Heist" (with Stephen Thompson, 2014)
* "The Caretaker" (with Gareth Roberts, 2014)
* "Dark Water" / "Death in Heaven" (2014)
* "Last Christmas" (2014)
* "New Series Prologue" (Prequel, 2015)
* "The Doctor’s Meditation" (Prequel, 2015)
* "The Magician's Apprentice" / "The Witch's Familiar" (2015)
* "The Girl Who Died" (with Jamie Mathieson, 2015)
* "The Zygon Inversion" (with Peter Harness, 2015)
* "Heaven Sent" (2015)
* "Hell Bent" (2015)
* "The Husbands of River Song" (2015)
* "The Return of Doctor Mysterio" (2016)
* "Friend from the Future" (Minisode, 2016)
* "The Pilot" (2017)
* "Extremis" (2017)
* "The Pyramid at the End of the World" (with Peter Harness, 2017)
* "World Enough and Time" / "The Doctor Falls" (2017)
* "Twice Upon a Time" (2017)

| BBC One/YouTube
Coupling | 28 episodes (2000–2004)  | BBC Two
BBC Three
Jekyll |

6 episodes (2007)

| BBC One
Sherlock |

* "A Study in Pink" (unaired pilot, 2009)
* "A Study in Pink" (2010)
* "A Scandal in Belgravia" (2012)
* "The Sign of Three" (with Stephen Thompson and Mark Gatiss, 2014)
* "His Last Vow" (2014)
* "The Abominable Bride" (with Mark Gatiss, 2016)
* "The Lying Detective" (2017)
* "The Final Problem" (with Mark Gatiss, 2017)

Dracula |

Miniseries (co-written with Mark Gatiss, 2020)

The Time Traveler's Wife |

Miniseries (2022)

| HBO
Inside Man[73] |

Miniseries (2022)

| BBC One/Netflix
Douglas Is Cancelled | Miniseries (2024)  | ITVX

### Film

[edit]

Production  | Notes  | Distributor

|
|

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn |

Feature film (co-written with Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, 2011)

* Paramount Pictures (North America/UK/Australia)
* Sony Pictures Releasing[74] (International)

### Stage

[edit]

Production  | Notes  | Theatre

|
|

The Unfriend |

* World premiere (2022)
* First West End run (2023)
* Second West End run (2024)

* Minerva Theatre, Chichester[71]
* Criterion Theatre, London
* Wyndham's Theatre, London

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Work  | Category  | Result  | Reference

|
|
|
|
|

1991  | British Academy Television Awards | Press Gang | Best Children's Programme (Entertainment / Drama)  | Won  | [75]
Royal Television Society Awards | Best Children's Programme  | Won  | [76][77]
1992  | British Academy Television Awards  | Best Children's Programme  | Nominated  | [75]
1995  | Bronze Rose of Montreux | Joking Apart | Comedy  | Won  | [77]
2003  | British Comedy Awards | Coupling | Best TV Comedy  | Won  | [78][79]
2006  | Hugo Award | Doctor Who: "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Won  | [80][81]
Nebula Award | Doctor Who: "The Girl in the Fireplace"  | Best Script  | Nominated  | [82]
2007  | Hugo Award  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Won  | [83]
Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award  | Doctor Who, Series Three  | Best Soap / Series (TV) (with Chris Chibnall, Paul Cornell, Russell T Davies, Helen Raynor and Gareth Roberts)  | Won  | [84]
Nebula Award  | Doctor Who: "Blink"  | Best Script  | Nominated  | [82]
2008  | British Academy Television Award  | Best Writer  | Won  | [43]
Hugo Award  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Won  | [85]
BAFTA Cymru | Best Screenwriter  | Won  | [44]
BAFTA Scotland | Doctor Who | Writing in Film or Television  | Nominated  | [86]
2009  | Hugo Award  | Doctor Who: "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Nominated  | [87]
Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award  | Doctor Who, Series Four  | Television drama series (with Russell T Davies)  | Nominated  | [88]
2011  | Hugo Award  | Doctor Who: "The Pandorica Opens"/"The Big Bang"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Won  | [58]
Doctor Who: "A Christmas Carol"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Nominated  | [89]
Primetime Emmy Award | Sherlock: "A Study in Pink"  | Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special | Nominated  | [90]
Satellite Award | The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (shared with Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish) | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated  |
2012  | Annie Award | Writing in a Feature Production | Nominated  | [91]
Hugo Award  | Doctor Who: "A Good Man Goes To War"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Nominated  | [92]
British Academy Television Craft Awards | Sherlock: "A Scandal in Belgravia"  | Best Writing  | Won  | [59][93]
—  | Special Award  | Won  | [94]
Primetime Emmy Award  | Sherlock: "A Scandal in Belgravia"  | Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special | Nominated  | [95]
2013  | Hugo Award  | Doctor Who: "Asylum of the Daleks"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Nominated  |
Doctor Who: "The Angels Take Manhattan"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Nominated  |
Doctor Who: "The Snowmen"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Nominated  |
2014  | Hugo Award  | Doctor Who: "The Name of the Doctor"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Nominated  |
Doctor Who: "The Day of the Doctor"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Nominated  |
Primetime Emmy Award  | Sherlock: "His Last Vow"  | Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special | Won  | [60]
2015  | Bram Stoker Award | Doctor Who: "Listen"  | Superior Achievement in a Screenplay  | Nominated  | [96]
Hugo Award  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Nominated  | [97]
BAFTA Scotland  | Doctor Who | Writer in Film or Television  | Nominated  | [98]
2016  | Hugo Award  | Doctor Who: "Heaven Sent"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Nominated  | [99]
Primetime Emmy Award  | Sherlock: "The Abominable Bride"  | Outstanding Television Movie | Won  | [61]
2017  | Hugo Award  | Doctor Who: "The Return of Doctor Mysterio"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Nominated  | [100]
2018  | Hugo Award  | Doctor Who: "Twice Upon a Time"  | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form  | Nominated  | [101]

## Novels

[edit]

* Moffat, Steven (2018). Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor. National Geographic Books. ISBN 978-1-78594-329-4.

## See also

[edit]

* Category:Works by Steven Moffat

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Moffat, Steven (4 March 2009). "Production Notes". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 405\. p. 11.
2. ^ a b c d e Lourie, Adrian (22 March 2010). "Interview: Steven Moffat, Doctor Who screenwriter". The Scotsman. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
3. ^ As pronounced by Moffat in his 2016 Oxford Union Address.
4. ^ United Kingdom: "No. 61256". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2015. p. B14.
5. ^ a b McLean, Gareth (22 March 2010). "Steven Moffat: The man with a monster of a job". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
6. ^ Burrell, Ian (17 December 2011). "Steven Moffat: Storyteller in chief". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
7. ^ "Come & Join Your TV Station". Glasgow University Student Television. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
8. ^ "TV Shows of My Life". University of Glasgow. January 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
9. ^ John Coulter, Paul (29 January 2016). "Ex-Greenock teacher steps down from Doctor Who role". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
10. ^ "STA Catalogue – Document Details". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
11. ^ Staff writer (5 January 1989). "Write first time". The Stage. p. 15.
12. ^ Correspondent, Matthew Moore, Media (13 September 2023). "Atheist Dracula writers took Christianity seriously". The Times. Retrieved 13 September 2023. `{{cite web}}`: `|last1=` has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
13. ^ a b Herring, Richard (1997). "Interview With Steven Moffat". The Guardian Guide. Retrieved 11 May 2007.
14. ^ a b c d After the Chalk Dust Settled, featurette on Chalk Series 1 DVD, ReplayDVD.co.uk, prod. & dir. Craig Robins
15. ^ Paul Cornell (1993) "Press Gang" In: Cornell, Paul.; Martin Day (writer); Keith Topping (1993). The Guinness Book of Classic British TV. Guinness. p. 215\. ISBN 0-85112-543-3.
16. ^ McGown, Alistair. "Press Gang (1989–93)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 21 December 2006.
17. ^ Steven Moffat & Julia Sawalha, "Yesterday's News" Press Gang: Season 2 DVD audio commentary
18. ^ a b Steven Moffat & Julia Sawalha, "The Big Finish?" Press Gang: Season 2 DVD audio commentary
19. ^ a b Kibble-White, Graham (May 2006). "Fool if you think it's over". Off the Telly. Archived from the original on 9 December 2006. Retrieved 22 December 2006.
20. ^ a b Ptaszynski, Andre; Moffat, Steven, Joking Apart, Series 2, Episode 1 DVD audio commentary
21. ^ Fool if You Think It's Over, featurette, Joking Apart, Series 1 DVD, Dir. Craig Robins
22. ^ Jarvis, Shane (8 May 2006). "Farce that rose from the grave". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2007.
23. ^ "Murder Most Horrid". BBC Comedy. Retrieved 12 February 2008.
24. ^ "TV Episodes Written By Steven Moffat". Ranker. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
25. ^ "Murder Most Horrid (an Episode Guide)". epguides.com. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
26. ^ Steven Moffat, "The Empty Child", Doctor Who, DVD audio commentary
27. ^ Cornell, Paul (1995). Human Nature. London: Virgin Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-426-20443-3.
28. ^ a b Ainsworth, John, ed. (2019). "The Curse of Fatal Death: Pre-production". Doctor Who: The Complete History. Vol. 90\. Panini Magazines/Hachette Partworks Ltd. p. 106.
29. ^ Sternbergh, Adam (7 September 2003). "Selling Your Sex Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
30. ^ Coupling: Behind the Scenes, featurette (2002, prod./dir. Sarah Barnett & Christine Wilson) Couping Season 1 DVD (Region 1), BBC Video, ISBN 0-7907-7339-2
31. ^ Chalk Series 1 DVD audio commentary, ReplayDVD
32. ^ Ainsworth, John, ed. (2019). "The Curse of Fatal Death: Pre-production". Doctor Who: The Complete History. Vol. 90\. Panini Magazines/Hachette Partworks Ltd. pp. 109–115.109-115&rft.date=2019&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Steven+Moffat" class="Z3988">
33. ^ Ainsworth, John, ed. (2019). "The Curse of Fatal Death: Production". Doctor Who: The Complete History. Vol. 90\. Panini Magazines/Hachette Partworks Ltd. p. 116.
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## External links

[edit]

* Steven Moffat at IMDb
* Steven Moffat biography at the Hartswood Films website.
* Audio interview with Steven Moffat at the Doctor Who series two press launch (BBC Wiltshire)

Preceded by

Russell T Davies

|  Doctor Who Showrunner
2010–2017  | Succeeded by

Chris Chibnall

|
|

* v
* t
* e

Steven Moffat

Series written
and produced|

* Press Gang (1989–1993)
* Joking Apart (1993–1995)
* Chalk (1997)
* Coupling (2000–2004)
* Jekyll (2007)
* Doctor Who (2005–2017, 2024)
* Sherlock (2010–2017)
* Dracula (2020)
* The Time Traveler's Wife (2022)
* Inside Man (2022)
* Douglas Is Cancelled (2024)

Films written|

* The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Novels written|

* The Day of the Doctor (2018)

Plays written|

* The Unfriend (2020)

* v
* t
* e

Doctor Who episodes by Steven Moffat

Ninth Doctor|

* "The Empty Child" / "The Doctor Dances"

Tenth Doctor|

* "The Girl in the Fireplace"
* "Blink"
* "Silence in the Library" / "Forest of the Dead"

Eleventh Doctor|

| Series 5|

* "The Eleventh Hour"
* "The Beast Below"
* "The Time of Angels" / "Flesh and Stone"
* "The Pandorica Opens" / "The Big Bang"

|

Series 6|

| Special|

"A Christmas Carol"

|

* "The Impossible Astronaut" / "Day of the Moon"
* "A Good Man Goes to War"
* "Let's Kill Hitler"
* "The Wedding of River Song"

Series 7|

| Special|

"The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe"

|

* "Asylum of the Daleks"
* "The Angels Take Manhattan"

Special|

"The Snowmen"

* "The Bells of Saint John"
* "The Name of the Doctor"

Specials|

* "The Day of the Doctor"
* "The Time of the Doctor"

Twelfth Doctor|

| Series 8|

* "Deep Breath"
* "Into the Dalek"
* "Listen"
* "Time Heist"
* "The Caretaker"
* "Dark Water" / "Death in Heaven"

|

Series 9|

| Special|

"Last Christmas"

|

* "The Magician's Apprentice" / "The Witch's Familiar"
* "The Girl Who Died"
* "The Zygon Inversion"
* "Heaven Sent"
* "Hell Bent"

Special|

"The Husbands of River Song"

Series 10|

| Special|

"The Return of Doctor Mysterio"

|

* "The Pilot"
* "Extremis"
* "The Pyramid at the End of the World"
* "World Enough and Time" / "The Doctor Falls"

Special|

* "Twice Upon a Time"

Fifteenth Doctor|

* "Boom"
* "Joy to the World"

Mini episodes|

* "Time Crash"
* "Space" / "Time"
* Night and the Doctor
* "The Night of the Doctor"

See also|

* The Curse of Fatal Death

* v
* t
* e

Sherlock

Episodes|

| Series 1|

* "A Study in Pink"
* "The Blind Banker"
* "The Great Game"

|

Series 2|

* "A Scandal in Belgravia"
* "The Hounds of Baskerville"
* "The Reichenbach Fall"

Series 3|

* "The Empty Hearse"
* "The Sign of Three"
* "His Last Vow"

Special|

* "The Abominable Bride"

Series 4|

* "The Six Thatchers"
* "The Lying Detective"
* "The Final Problem"

Related|

* Characters
* Awards and nominations
* Sherlock: The Game Is Now

* v
* t
* e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

1970s|

* Saul Levitt / Marvin Schwarz and Tracy Keenan Wynn (1971)
* William Blinn / Allan Sloane (1972)
* Eleanor Perry / Abby Mann (1973)
* Tracy Keenan Wynn / Fay Kanin (1974)
* David W. Rintels / James Costigan (1975)
* David W. Rintels / James Costigan (1976)
* Stewart Stern / Lane Slate (1977)
* Caryl Ledner / George Rubino (1978)
* Michael Mann and Patrick Nolan (1979)

1980s|

* David Chase (1980)
* Arthur Miller (1981)
* Barry Morrow (1982)
* Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick (1983)
* William Hanley (1984)
* Vickie Patik (1985)
* Ron Cowen, Daniel Lipman, and Sherman Yellen / David Butler (1986)
* Kenneth Blackwell, Tennyson Flowers and Richard Friedenberg (1987)
* William Hanley (1988)
* Ron Hutchison, Abby Mann and Robin Vote (1989)

1990s|

* Terrence McNally (1990)
* Andrew Davies (1991)
* Joshua Brand and John Falsey (1992)
* Jane Anderson (1993)
* Bob Randall (1994)
* Alison Cross (1995)
* Simon Moore (1996)
* Horton Foote (1997)
* Kario Salem (1998)
* Ann Peacock (1999)

2000s|

* David Mills and David Simon (2000)
* Loring Mandel (2001)
* Larry Ramin and Hugh Whitemore (2002)
* William H. Macy and Steven Schachter (2003)
* Tony Kushner (2004)
* Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (2005)
* Richard Curtis (2006)
* Frank Deasy (2007)
* Kirk Ellis (2008)
* Andrew Davies (2009)

2010s|

* Adam Mazer (2010)
* Julian Fellowes (2011)
* Danny Strong (2012)
* Abi Morgan (2013)
* Steven Moffat (2014)
* Jane Anderson (2015)
* D.V. DeVincentis (2016)
* Charlie Brooker (2017)
* William Bridges and Charlie Brooker (2018)
* Craig Mazin (2019)

2020s|

* Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson (2020)
* Michaela Coel (2021)
* Mike White (2022)
* Lee Sung Jin (2023)
* Richard Gadd (2024)

* v
* t
* e

RTS Programme Award for Best Writing in a Drama

* Paul Abbott (2005)
* Andrew Davies (2006)
* Peter Morgan (2007)
* Heidi Thomas (2008)
* Peter Flannery (2009)
* Peter Bowker (2010)
* Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne (2011)
* Peter Bowker (2012)
* Steven Moffat (2013)
* Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and Marlon Smith (2014)
* Peter Morgan (2015)
* Peter Morgan (2016)
* Sally Wainwright (2017)
* Nicole Taylor (2018)
* Lennie James (2019)
* Craig Mazin (2020)
* Michaela Coel (2021)
* Russell T Davies (2022)
* Lucy Prebble (2023)
* Sarah Phelps (2024)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Japan
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Catalonia
* Belgium

Academics|

* CiNii

Artists|

* MusicBrainz
* Emmy Awards

People|

* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

Other|

* IdRef

*[m.]: married
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template