Ann McManus
Scottish screenwriter (1957–2025)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ann McManus (6 October 1957 – 16 August 2025) was a Scottish television screenwriter best known as the creator and writer of the television series Waterloo Road, and for her work on series including Coronation Street.
Ann McManus | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 October 1957 Ayr, Scotland |
| Died | 16 August 2025 (aged 67) |
| Education | University of Glasgow Jordanhill College |
| Occupation | Television screenwriter |
| Years active | c. 1980s–2013 |
| Known for | Being the co-founder of Shed Productions |
| Notable work | Waterloo Road |
Political party | Communist Party of Scotland (c. 1980s–1990s) |
| Spouse(s) |
Peter Breeze
(m. 1980; div. 1990)Eileen Gallagher (m. 2006) |
Early life and education
Ann McManus was born in Ayr, Scotland on 6 October 1957, to James and Frances McManus. Her father was a railwayman. Her mother was an administrative assistant prior to having children; after raising them she later became a special education teacher. McManus was the second of six children.[1]
McManus attended St. John's Primary School in Ayr, and then Queen Margaret Academy. After a stint in a call centre, she earned a degree in English language and literature from the University of Glasgow. She then earned a Diploma of Education while training at Jordanhill School.[1]
Career
McManus began her career as a teacher in 1984 in Castlemilk, then in Rutherglen.[2] After seeing a newspaper ad, she enrolled in a distance learning course to learn to write short stories.[3] Her first screenwriting was for the soap opera Take the High Road. McManus went on to work on a range of long-running and successful drama series including Coronation Street, Waterloo Road, Bad Girls, and Footballers' Wives.[4]
She was creative director and co-founder of Shed Productions with ITV manager Eileen Gallagher and writer Maureen Chadwick.[2][5] Shed produced Bad Girls, set in a women's prison, for ITV in 1998. Bad Girls featured British TV's first long-term lesbian relationship. Footballers' Wives ran for several seasons as primetime TV from 2002 to 2006. Waterloo Road for the BBC drew on McManus' own experience of working in schools.[4] Shed was bought by Warner Brothers in 2013, valued at £100 million.[6]
After her career in writing for television brought her success, McManus later established a master's program in television fiction writing at Glasgow Caledonian University to support new screenwriters.[1][7]
Personal life and death
In 1980, McManus married Peter Breeze, whom she had met in university. They divorced in 1990. In 2006, she and Eileen Gallagher entered a civil partnership.[1]
While in university, McManus joined the Communist party and became a highly active member. She left the party in the early 1990s. McManus was a keen singer, and supporter of various lesbian and gay campaigns, including LGB Alliance. McManus died from a cardiac arrest on 16 August 2025, at the age of 67.[1]