Tess Morris

Tessa Jo Morris (born April 1977) is a British screenwriter. She was named one of BAFTA's Breakthrough Brits of 2015 after her success writing the romantic comedy Man Up.

She attended university in South London where she completed a TV and Film degree. In 1997, while she was still in university, Morris wrote a short film titled Beer Goggles. The short was directed by David Mackenzie as part of the Lloyds Bank/Channel Four Film Challenge. Her team's film won first place and was broadcast on Channel 4.

After university, Morris became a journalist for teen news publishers where she regularly interviewed the cast of Hollyoaks, a British soap opera. She wrote 18 episodes over the following two years, gaining a reputation on the show for her comedic scripts.

Looking for work outside Hollyoaks, Morris wrote a pilot for a sitcom based on her relationship with her Jewish grandmother titled Granny and Annie, but had no luck in getting it made. However, this pilot did get Morris noticed by the UK production company DLT Entertainment, who then hired her to write for their sitcom, My Family. In 2008, she was chosen for the BFI/Skillset Think Shoot Distribute Scheme for emerging talent in the British film industry. The films which inspired her the most are When Harry Met Sally, Moonstruck and As Good as it Gets.

Since the release of Man Up, Morris has continued to work with Big Talk. She is writing a romantic comedy for Big Talk and BBC Films as well as a TV pilot for Lucky Giant and NBC.

From 2017 to 2018, she was a member of the writing staff for Hulu's comedy-drama series Casual.

Filmography