Jimmy McGovern

James Stanley McGovern (born 19 September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series Cracker (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He also received recognition for creating drama series such as Hillsborough, The Lakes, The Street, and Accused, among others. On 8 December 2021, McGovern was awarded the Freedom of The City of Liverpool in recognition of his life's work.

Early life McGovern was born in Liverpool on 19 September 1949, the son of working-class parents Jane (née Warner) and William McGovern. He was the fifth of nine children. He has a stammer, for which he received no therapy and which affects him still. Brought up a Catholic, he attended St. Francis Xavier's College which moved to the Woolton suburb of Liverpool in 1961.

Career Television In 1982, McGovern started his TV career working on Channel 4's soap opera Brookside. He tackled many social issues in the course of the series, especially unemployment – which was at a post-war high at the time. In 1993, he created the drama serial Cracker, about the work of a fictional criminal psychologist played by Robbie Coltrane. Made by Granada Television and screened on ITV, the series was a critical and popular success, lasting until 1995. Cracker also aired in the United States, on the Arts and Entertainment cable network. McGovern's writing earned him two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. In 1997 he created The Lakes, a drama that shared Brookside's realist setting and reused themes from Cracker, such as gambling addiction. In 2006, he created the BBC One drama, The Street; its third and final series aired in 2009.

McGovern also wrote the script for the television docudrama Hillsborough (1996), based on the events of the stadium disaster in 1989, which claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool fans at an FA Cup semi-final. Among the cast of this drama was Christopher Eccleston, who also featured in Cracker, along with former Brookside actor Ricky Tomlinson. Eccleston later said it was the most important work he'd ever done. Newspapers cited Hillsborough as a factor in a new inquiry set up in 1997.

In 2009, McGovern was the executive producer on the BBC One miniseries Moving On. His series Accused aired from 2010 to 2012 on BBC One. It followed a similar format to The Street but with a crime component. The series' writers included McGovern, Danny Brocklehurst, Alice Nutter and Shaun Duggan. It was produced by Sita Williams.

In 2012, McGovern and local Indigenous Australian writers from Sydney developed the Australian television drama series Redfern Now, set among the Indigenous Australians of the Sydney suburb of Redfern. The six-part series follows a similar format to Accused, telling the stories of six inner-city households in one street whose lives are changed by a seemingly insignificant incident. The series debuted on 1 November 2012, was produced by Blackfella Films and has been commissioned for a second series.

In June 2021, McGovern's series Time, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, aired on BBC One. The series was directed by Lewis Arnold. It won the BAFTA for best miniseries in 2022.

Film McGovern wrote the screenplay for the 1994 drama, Priest.

Stage McGovern wrote the book for the musical stage show King Cotton, which explores links between the Atlantic slave trade and industrialisation in North West England, as part of the Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008. King Cotton premiered at the Lowry in September 2007 before moving to the Liverpool Empire.

Views on writing McGovern has described cinema scriptwriters as being treated poorly and required to produce an abundance of drafts by successive producers. McGovern has openly criticised dramas such as Footballers' Wives lamenting the lack of quality, believable storytelling in the early 2000s. He believes that television directors are underrated. He says: "I have worked twice with David Blair" on The Lakes and The Street, "and I can tell you that he is the best there is. He can make a good project great... Why David hasn’t won the acclaim he deserves is a mystery to me".

Filmography Programme Date Channel Notes Brookside 1982–1989 Channel 4 Writer of several episodes Coronation Street 1990 ITV Episode #1.3115 (writer) ScreenPlay BBC Two Series 5, episode 11: "Needle" (writer) Traitors TV film. Dramatisation of the Gunpowder Plot (later revisited in Gunpowder, Treason & Plot) (writer) El C.I.D. 1990–1991 ITV Writer of 3 episodes: "A Proper Copper", "Christmas Spirit" and "Piece of Cake" The Play on One 1991 BBC One 1 episode: "Gas and Candles" (writer) Cracker 1993–1996, 2006 ITV Creator, and writer of several episodes and 1 special (2006) Priest 1994 - Film, starring Linus Roache (writer) Hearts and Minds 1995 Channel 4 Writer of all 4 episodes Go Now BBC One TV film, starring Robert Carlyle and Juliet Aubrey (co-writer) Hillsborough 1996 ITV TV film. Dramatised reconstruction of the events of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster (writer) Fitz 1997 ABC / ITV 5 episodes (original teleplay) The Lakes 1997–1999 BBC One Creator, and writer of 10 episodes Heart 1999 - Film, starring Saskia Reeves and Christopher Eccleston (writer) Dockers Channel 4 TV film. Dramatisation of the Liverpool dockers' strike (1995–98) (co-writer) Liam 2000 - Film, starring Ian Hart (writer) Sunday 2002 Channel 4 TV film. Based on the events of Bloody Sunday (writer) Gunpowder, Treason & Plot 2004 BBC One TV mini-series. Dramatisation of the lives of Mary, Queen of Scots and James I of England (writer) The Street 2006–2009 Creator, and writer of 17 episodes Moving On 2009–2021 Creator, and writer of several episodes Accused 2010–2012 10 episodes (writer) Common 2014 TV film, set in the north west of England and based on the UK's controversial joint enterprise law (writer) Banished 2015 BBC Two TV mini-series. Creator, and writer of all 7 episodes Defendant 2016 France 2 A French language remake of the British drama series Accused (creator) Reg BBC One TV film. Fact-based drama about the campaign by Reg Keys to obtain answers after the death of his son in the Iraq War (co-writer) Broken 2017 Writer/co-writer of all 6 episodes Care 2018 TV film, starring Sheridan Smith. Co-written with Gillian Juckes. Anthony 2020 TV film Time 2021–present TV series, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. Writer of all three episodes. Unforgivable 2025 BBC Two TV film

Awards and honours Two Edgar Awards for Cracker. International Emmy for best drama series for The Street in 2010 and The Accused in 2011. Lifetime Achievement award from the Royal Television Society for his body of work. the Freedom of Liverpool on 8 December 2021, from Liverpool City Council, in recognition of his life's work.

BAFTAs Year Nominated work Category Co-nominees Result Ref. 1994 Cracker Drama Series Gub Neal 1995 — Dennis Potter Award — 1996 Go NowSingle Drama Andrew Eaton, Paul Henry Powell, Michael Winterbottom 1997 Hillsborough Katy Jones, Charles McDougall, Nicola Shindler 1998 The Lakes Drama Serial David Blair, Charles Pattinson 2000 Dockers Single Drama Bill Anderson, Sally Hibbin 2007 The Street Drama Series David Blair, Ken Horn, Sita Williams 2008 Television Craft — 2008Drama John Chapman, Terry McDonough, Sita Williams 2010 David Blair, Roxy Spencer, Sita Williams 2013 Accused "(Tracie's Story)" Writer Drama Shaun Duggan 2013 Accused Mini Series Ashley Pearce, Roxy Spencer, Sita Williams 2015 Common Single Drama David Blair, Colin McKeown, Donna Molloy