William Gallagher
About
Photo credits: Big Finish, BBC, AJ Pilkington, Joanne Penn, Angela Gallagher
I'm a writer – drama, journalism, books, workshops, To Do lists – and if you know me at all, it's for Doctor Who audios, Radio Times, UK DVD Review podcast and the British Film Institute book on The Beiderbecke Affair.
If you don't know me at all, hello. I need to tell you I'm not the Bill Gallagher who wrote Lark Rise and I'm not the fella from the band with that brother of his.
And I want to tell you that I once had afternoon tea on a Russian nuclear submarine but deeply regret calling the place a dive.
Have a poke about the sections below, do check out the little shop and my Self Distract blog. And for a writer, I don't half talk a lot: have a natter with me on email.
William
Blog
Self Distract is my weekly blog about what we write and what we write with, when we get around to writing.
It's meant to be just you and I having a chat, maybe getting some stuff off our chests, certainly having tea and definitely debating all the really big three-biscuit issues of the day.
Despite that, previous entries have been reprinted by The Birmingham Rep and technology magazines. Have you been telling people about us? I'll put the kettle on, you have a click through to the latest blog entry below.
DOCUMENTARIES – SENSATIONALISM OR GLOBAL CATASTROPHE?
5 July 2013
Roguishly handsome celebrity Flavour O'Themonth on a personal journey to find why documentaries are now about their presenters.
Doctor Who
Stuff me, forget about me, just look at that beautiful cover art by Simon Holub. It's a funny world when my name gets to go on that but I'm secretly – no, very, very openly – pleased.
I've been doing Big Finish Doctor Who since 2010 and each time they make my scripts sound wonderful. The actors, the direction, the utterly gorgeous sound design, the lot.
I've covered Doctor Who in my Self Distract blog: have a read of the most relevant entries below for more.
William
Live blogging Doctor Who at Christmas
21 December 2012
18:23 I'm not following this plot at all. Typical Stephen Moffat. [XXXXX EDITOR TO CHECK: is it Stephen or Steven? XXXXXX]
Doctor Who: And the jaw-dropping actor is...
2 November 2012
I didn't put it together that 'Ron' could ever be Ronald Pickup. Do you know, he thanked me? I'm taking that.
Finishing Doctor Who: Wirrn Isle
9 May 2012
I've just this minute discovered that my iPad knows the word Wirrn. It's obviously learnt this from the number of times I've written it.
The Beiderbecke Affair
My first big magazine article in the 1980s was a feature about Alan Plater and The Beiderbecke Affair TV series for the British Film Institute. A thousand years later, my first book was exactly the same.
In between, Beiderbecke had become this beloved hit, this savoured memory and the basis for a jazz tour that ran until Alan's death in 2010. And he became a friend.
So this was an important book for me and
when it was first published in 2012, I produced a series of video and audio podcasts with extra details and an exclusive interview with Alan's widow, Shirley Rubinstein.
If you know Beiderbecke, you think it's the story of Jill and Trevor. But you'll find out that it's really Shirley and Alan.
William
Little Shop
BFI TV Classics: The Beiderbecke Affair
Book: British Film Institute
Examining and celebrating Alan Plater's beloved drama with analysis of its impact and its influence – plus a previously unpublished Beiderbecke tale.
Doctor Who: Spaceport Fear
Drama: BBC/Big Finish
"Creative and atmospheric Who storytelling at its best" – SFX Magazine
Doctor Who: Wirrn Isle
Drama: BBC/Big Finish
"Spooky and disturbing" – Doctor Who Magazine
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