Douglas Watkinson

Douglas Arthur Watkinson (born 5 July 1945) is an English novelist, playwright and screenwriter, specializing in crime and mystery. Douglas has written literally hundreds of scripts for television over a 40 year career, contributing to many best loved series such as Lovejoy, Boon, Juliet Bravo, Agatha Christie's Poirot and Midsomer Murders.  He also wrote the first daytime drama to be produced in the UK, For Maddie with Love. He has written four stage plays; Let's Do It My Way, Caesar and Me, The Dragon's Tail and The Wall. Douglas was born into an army family and his father served throughout World War II and beyond. He was killed in Palestine by The Stern Gang in 1947.  His death is the inspiration for his most recent play The Wall, in which a middle aged man visits a military cemetery in Ramleh, Israel and meets a young British soldier who turns out to be his father. Educated at Haberdashers' Aske's, Watkinson later attended East 15 Acting School, where his first plays were performed. Whilst there he met his wife Lesley and they now live in Buckinghamshire with their German Shepherd. Their four grown up children have left home. He continues to write from a shed in the garden. Douglas began his career writing the backs of record sleeves for Decca and at the same time he bombarded television companies with plays. The first to be produced was a thirty-minute two-hander called Click, starring Ray Brooks and John Paul. Since then, he has never been out of work. He was the script writer for several BBC series, most notably Z Cars, Howard's Way and The Brothers. His favourite work has been Midsomer Murders, Boon (for which he wrote the establishing episode), Lovejoy, Forever Green and Maybury.