Sophie Petzal
British screenwriter (born 1990)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sophie Petzal (born 4 November 1990) is a British screenwriter, best known for creating the Irish crime drama, Blood.
Sophie Petzal | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 November 1990 Brighton, UK |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
| Writing career | |
| Period | 2012– |
| Genre | Drama |
| Notable awards | Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award (2012) Best Long-Form Drama at the Writers' Guild Of Great Britain Awards (2020) |
Career
Having written comedy shorts as a child, Petzal first gained attention with her script The God Committee, one of the winners of All Mixed Up, a competition run in conjunction with the Triforce Creative Network and BBC Comedy. The script secured her an agent.[1] While studying screenwriting at Bournemouth University, Petzal secured a place as a BBC Production Trainee. Her script Sanctioned won the Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award at the International Emmys.[2]
Following a trainee placement at CBBC in script editing, she started writing for several CBBC shows, including Wolfblood, Hetty Feather, The Dumping Ground and Danger Mouse. She subsequently moved into hour-long drama, writing episodes of Jekyll and Hyde (produced by Foz Allen, who was also the producer on Wolfblood and Hetty Feather), Medici, The Last Kingdom, and Riviera.[3]
In 2018, Petzal's first original TV drama series Blood, starring Adrian Dunbar and Carolina Main, aired on TV3 and Channel 5.[4] Her script for Blood won Best Long-Form Drama at the Writers' Guild Of Great Britain Awards.[5] It was renewed for a second series, which began broadcasting in April 2020. It was announced in February 2020 that Petzal was writing a four-part thriller for ITV, Hollington Drive.[6] The first episode aired on 29 September 2021.[7]
On 13 December 2020, Netflix announced that Petzal would helm an adaptation of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.[8] On 17 January 2023, it was reported that after 2 years of development, Netflix had cancelled it.[9] On 14 May 2026, it was announced that Petzal would write on the second series of Sky's Prisoner.[10][11]