Arthur Hopcraft
Encyclopedia
Arthur Hopcraft was an English
scriptwriter, well known for his TV plays such as The Nearly Man
, and for his small-screen adaptations such as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
, Hard Times
, Bleak House
, and Rebecca. Before taking up writing for TV, he was a sports journalist for The Guardian
and The Observer
, writing The Football Man: People and Passions in Soccer. He also had four other books published, including an autobiographical account of his childhood, and wrote the screenplay for the film Hostage. Hopcraft won the BAFTA
writer's award in 1985.
He was a "self-described loner whose claustrophobia extended to refusing to use the London Underground." He never married, noting that "I tried both sexes, but ended up wishing they would all just go away" .
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
scriptwriter, well known for his TV plays such as The Nearly Man
The Nearly Man
The Nearly Man was a UK TV series from the mid-1970s created by Arthur Hopcraft about a middle-class Labour MP. Originally screened on ITV on 4 August 1974, the series won the Broadcasting Press Guild award for the best single play on British television in 1974. The series was filmed in London by...
, and for his small-screen adaptations such as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a 1974 British spy novel by John le Carré, featuring George Smiley. Smiley is a middle-aged, taciturn, perspicacious intelligence expert in forced retirement. He is recalled to hunt down a Soviet mole in the "Circus", the highest echelon of the Secret Intelligence...
, Hard Times
Hard Times
Hard Times - For These Times is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1854. The book appraises English society and is aimed at highlighting the social and economic pressures of the times....
, Bleak House
Bleak House (1985 TV serial)
Bleak House was the second adaptation by the BBC of the Charles Dickens novel of the same name. The novel was adapted by Arthur Hopcraft....
, and Rebecca. Before taking up writing for TV, he was a sports journalist for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, writing The Football Man: People and Passions in Soccer. He also had four other books published, including an autobiographical account of his childhood, and wrote the screenplay for the film Hostage. Hopcraft won the BAFTA
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
writer's award in 1985.
Career
Hopcraft was born in Shoeburyness, Essex. He soon moved to Cannock, Staffordshire, and as a teen, he started working at local newspapers. By the age of 17, he was reporting on the Stafford Rangers' semi-professional football games using the pseudonym "Linesman." After his service in the military, he worked at the Daily Mirror in Manchester and then the Guardian. He had assignments in west Africa, India and Brazil. In the mid-1960s, he began doing football writing at The Observer as well.He was a "self-described loner whose claustrophobia extended to refusing to use the London Underground." He never married, noting that "I tried both sexes, but ended up wishing they would all just go away" .