Danny Stack

Danny Stack is an Irish screenwriter and film director, with credits in children's television, indie films and TV movies. Alongside Tim Clague, he made the live-action family films Who Killed Nelson Nutmeg, Future TX and the TV series Dog Years. Danny and Tim created and co-hosted The UK Scriptwriters Podcast, a regular series of interviews with prominent writers and producers in UK film and television, as well as advice for getting into the industry.

Career After working as a special effects assistant and then a film critic for JMTV, Stack moved to England and began working for Channel 4's Entertainment department. He also worked as a freelance script reader for Miramax, Working Title and Pathe. In 2004, Stack won the BBCNI Tony Doyle Bursary Award for New Writing. He gained his first writing credit on The Amazing Adrenalini Brothers, followed by Doctors and EastEnders. He subsequently moved into children's television, writing for series such as Hey Duggee, Thunderbirds Are Go, PJ Masks, Octonauts and Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy. His first short film (that he wrote, produced & directed), the supernatural thriller Origin, won Best Horror Short at the London Independent Film Festival.

Danny helped set up the Red Planet Prize, a screenwriting award run by Red Planet Pictures, the production company of Tony Jordan. One of the winners was Robert Thorogood, whose script became Death in Paradise.

With Tim Clague, Stack founded Nelson Nutmeg Pictures, a production company focusing on independent films and television projects. Their first feature was Who Killed Nelson Nutmeg?, starring Bonnie Wright. The film premiered on 10 October 2015 at the 59th BFI London Film Festival. In 2020, the pair released their preschool series, Dog Years, on kidoodle.tv, a family-friendly streaming service.

Their next film, a science-fiction children's feature titled Future TX, premiered at the Cinemagic Festival in Belfast on 15 October 2022, with a limited theatrical after. In 2023, it was announced Stack and Clague were developing a new animated series, Buddybots, for Creation Entertainment Media and Magic Frame Animation. Stack and Clague are also developing an animated feature for Creation, a children's comedy titled Aliens F.C..

In April 2023, RTE aired a new children's animated series, Flix, based on the books by Tomi Ungerer. Stack was head writer of the series. Also in 2023, Stack and Clague were hired to direct a number of romance dramedies for Reel One Entertainment including To England With Love starring Georgia Hirst, and A Very English Christmas starring Kimberley Nixon.

Teaching Stack has lectured on screenwriting. In addition, he co-authored two guide books with Clague, The UK Scriptwriters Survival Handbook: or How to Earn an Actual Living as a Writer in 2015, followed by Write a Script in 10 Weeks in 2017.

Filmography

Television Production Episodes Broadcaster/DistributorThe Amazing Adrenalini Brothers 1 episode (2006)CiTVDoctors 2 episodes (2006)BBC OneSofia’s Diary Staff writer (2008) Channel 5Roy 1 episode (2009)CBBCEastEnders 2 episodes (2009) BBC OneThe Octonauts 15 episodes (2012–2013) CbeebiesRocka-Bye Island 2 episodes (2014) Monster EntertainmentHey Duggee Staff writer (2015) CbeebiesThunderbirds Are Go 1 episode (2015) CitvThe Hive 2 episodes (2015) DisneyZack & Quack 1 episode (2016)Nick Jr. Brewster the Rooster 3 episodes (2017)RTE Olobob Top 6 episodes (2017–2018)Monster Entertainment PJ Masks 7 episodes (2018–2020) DisneyTransformers: Rescue Bots Academy 6 episodes (2019–2020) Discovery Kids Rhyme Time Town 1 episode (2020) NetflixDog Years Web series. Creator, director, writer, producer (2020) kidoodle.tvAlva’s World 2 episodes (2021) RTEjrTales from Dún Draíochta 1 episode (2022) RTEBig Tree City 1 episode (2022) NetflixFlix Head writer (2023) RTETulipop Tales 1 episode (2023) -Pop Paper City 1 episode (2023) Aardman

Film Production Episodes Broadcaster/DistributorWho Killed Nelson Nutmeg? Director, Writer, Producer (2015) Evolutionary FilmsFuture TX Director, writer, producer (2022) Templeheart Films To England, with Love Director, producer (2023) Reel One EntertainmentA Very English Christmas Director, producer (2023) Paramount+A Merry Royal Christmas Director, producer (2024) Reel One Entertainment