Diane's Biography

Diane was born in Wombwell, Yorkshire. Her father was a tool fitter and her mother a housewife.  At the age of 18, knowing absolutely nothing about the entertainment business, but determined to find out, she applied to various drama schools and was accepted by Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre (Now Manchester Metropolitan) and embarked on a three year training course Her first professional engagement was at the Coliseum Theatre Oldham. She then went on to work extensively at some of the country’s leading theatres as well as in film, television and radio.

After the birth of her daughter Becky in 1986, the lure of the repertory season started to lose some of its appeal, so she moved into writing, encouraged by her husband, the playwright Dave Simpson. She sold a couple of radio plays Castlehill and Flights of Fancy and then got accepted as a writer on the Children’s TV series Grange Hill. Her stage play version of Castlehill was produced at Contact Theatre where she was resident writer in 1990. She also wrote on Home Farm Twins and co-wrote (with director Paul Hills) the award winning feature film Boston Kickout.

From 1995 - 1998 she successfully combined a writing career with running her own production company, Bite-Back Productions, producing a short film Boom Boom Clap, as well as numerous plays and documentaries for BBC Radio 4.

Between 1998 and 2004 she moved into television and worked for Granada Kids as a Series Producer and Writer. She produced two series of Children’s Ward, created and produced a new comedy drama series, Big Meg Little Meg, wrote on the popular Worst Witch series and produced and wrote on two major kids series 24Seven, and the award winning Girls in Love.

Diane’s stage-play Vegetable, was produced at the 2007 24/7 festival in Manchester, winning Best of the Festival and going on to get nominated for a Manchester Evening News theatre award. In 2007, her children’s book My Nana is an Alien was published, with all proceeds going towards the charity PHA UK.

Freelance writing and producing work from 2004 to present includes producing the pilot Jinx for Kindle Entertainment and Nickelodeon then helping to develop the series which went on to be produced for CBBC; writing on the series Bear Behaving Badly and Katie's Picture Show; and all 60 episodes of Series 1 of The House of Anubis (Lime Pictures/Nickelodeon/Studio 100).

Diane is currently developing & writing storylines for Season 2 of the House of Anubis. She is also working as a consultant for Studio 100 (Belgium), and has various projects in development with Lime Pictures. Diane is also actively involved in Manchester theatre group JB Shorts who put on productions bi-annually at Joshua Brooks pub in Manchester.