Helen Raynor
Encyclopedia
Helen Raynor is a British
television
and theatre
writer and script editor
. From 2004 until 2007 she was one of the script editors of the revived version of the BBC
science-fiction
series Doctor Who
, working on its first three series. Her own writing work includes two stories of Doctor Who and episodes of spin-off series Torchwood
, as well as Cake, a fifteen-minute television short for BBC One
's Brief Encounters strand shown in May 2006, and a sixty-minute play Running Away with the Hairdresser for BBC Radio 4
, broadcast in June 2005. For the theatre she has written Waterloo Exit Two, a short play presented as part of Paines Plough
's Wild Lunch season at the Young Vic in 2003.
at Cambridge University. Her initial career was in the theatre
, where she worked for eight years as a director and assistant director for the Bush Theatre
, the Royal Shakespeare Company
, Clwyd Theatr Cymru
, the Royal Opera House
and Opera North
. Her RSC Fringe production of Soho by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
won a Fringe First at the 2000 Edinburgh Festival. Switching to television, from 2002 to 2004 she was a script editor on BBC One's daytime medical soap opera
Doctors
.
Outside of broadcasting, she has written for Doctor Who Magazine
and compiled the script book of the 2005 season of Doctor Who for BBC Books
. She also provides an audio commentary for the Doctor Who episode "World War Three
" in the 2005 season DVD boxset, released in November 2005. She later provided a second audio commentary for the series two episode "School Reunion
" in April 2006, this time for free download from the bbc.co.uk
Doctor Who website.
Raynor is currently working as a writer for several theatre companies. She co-wrote the 2011 TV series Baker Boys
with partner Gary Owen.
"/"Evolution of the Daleks
" for the 2007 series of Doctor Who
, in which the Dalek
s invade New York
in 1930. She was the first woman to write for the new series, as well as the first woman to write a Dalek story in Doctor Whos history. She then wrote another two-part story for Series 4, entitled "The Sontaran Stratagem
"/"The Poison Sky
" in which the Doctor's old enemies the Sontarans, last seen in 1985's "The Two Doctors
"" make their re-imagined return to series. UNIT
and Martha Jones
also returned in these episodes. She also returned to her script editing duties later on in the same series, working on the Steven Moffat
two-part story "Silence in the Library
"/"Forest of the Dead
" and Russell T Davies' "Midnight
".
Raynor has also contributed the story "All of Beyond" to the Doctor Who short story collection Short Trips: Snapshots
, published in June 2007. This was her first professionally published work of prose
.
, also produced by BBC Wales
. She went on to write one episode of the series herself – "Ghost Machine
", broadcast on 29 October 2006 – making extensive use of locations in the city of Cardiff
where she lives.
She wrote the third episode of the second season of the show, "To the Last Man
", in which Toshiko falls for a handsome soldier, trapped out of his time, who unwittingly holds the key to saving the world.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
writer and script editor
Script editor
A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, ensuring that scripts are suitable for production...
. From 2004 until 2007 she was one of the script editors of the revived version of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
science-fiction
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, working on its first three series. Her own writing work includes two stories of Doctor Who and episodes of spin-off series Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
, as well as Cake, a fifteen-minute television short for BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's Brief Encounters strand shown in May 2006, and a sixty-minute play Running Away with the Hairdresser for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, broadcast in June 2005. For the theatre she has written Waterloo Exit Two, a short play presented as part of Paines Plough
Paines Plough
Paines Plough is a London-based British touring theatre company founded in 1974 by writer David Pownall and director John Adams. They named the company after their favourite pub, the Plough, where they would drink pints of Paines....
's Wild Lunch season at the Young Vic in 2003.
Professional biography
Raynor attended Trinity HallTrinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
at Cambridge University. Her initial career was in the theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, where she worked for eight years as a director and assistant director for the Bush Theatre
Bush Theatre
The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
, the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, Clwyd Theatr Cymru
Clwyd Theatr Cymru
Clwyd Theatr Cymru , known until 1998 as Theatr Clwyd, is a regional arts centre located 1 mile from Mold, Flintshire, in north-east Wales.The complex contains five auditoria:*The Anthony Hopkins Theatre ....
, the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
and Opera North
Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...
. Her RSC Fringe production of Soho by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Rebecca Lenkiewicz is a British playwright. She attended Plymouth High School for Girls, then progressed to a BA in Film and English at the University of Kent from 1985 to 1989 and then to a BA Acting Course at the Central School of Speech and Drama from 1996 to 1999.-Career:As a writer, her plays...
won a Fringe First at the 2000 Edinburgh Festival. Switching to television, from 2002 to 2004 she was a script editor on BBC One's daytime medical soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Doctors
Doctors (BBC Soap Opera)
Doctors is a British daytime television soap opera, set in the fictional Midland town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the City of Birmingham. It was created by Chris Murray; Mal Young drove its development, and Carson Black was the original producer. The first episode was broadcast on...
.
Outside of broadcasting, she has written for Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
and compiled the script book of the 2005 season of Doctor Who for BBC Books
BBC Books
BBC Books is an imprint majority owned and managed by Random House. The minority shareholder is BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation...
. She also provides an audio commentary for the Doctor Who episode "World War Three
World War Three (Doctor Who)
"World War Three" is the fifth episode of the first series in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 23 April 2005. It is the second of a two-part story. The first part, "Aliens of London", was broadcast on 16 April...
" in the 2005 season DVD boxset, released in November 2005. She later provided a second audio commentary for the series two episode "School Reunion
School Reunion (Doctor Who)
"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
" in April 2006, this time for free download from the bbc.co.uk
Bbc.co.uk
BBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
Doctor Who website.
Raynor is currently working as a writer for several theatre companies. She co-wrote the 2011 TV series Baker Boys
Baker Boys (2011 TV series)
Baker Boys is an English-language Welsh television drama series, produced by BBC Wales and broadcast on BBC One Wales. The series was written by writing couple Helen Raynor and Gary Owen. Torchwood creator Russell T Davies also had a role as creative consultant, which he fulfilled from Los Angeles...
with partner Gary Owen.
Doctor Who
In addition to her production duties for the show, Raynor wrote the two-part story "Daleks in ManhattanDaleks in Manhattan
"Daleks in Manhattan" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 21 April 2007, and is the fourth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is part one of a two-part story, concluded in "Evolution of the Daleks"...
"/"Evolution of the Daleks
Evolution of the Daleks
"Evolution of the Daleks" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 April 2007, and is the fifth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is the conclusion of the two-part story begun in "Daleks in...
" for the 2007 series of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, in which the Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
s invade New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1930. She was the first woman to write for the new series, as well as the first woman to write a Dalek story in Doctor Whos history. She then wrote another two-part story for Series 4, entitled "The Sontaran Stratagem
The Sontaran Stratagem
"The Sontaran Stratagem" is the fourth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 26 April 2008...
"/"The Poison Sky
The Poison Sky
"The Poison Sky" is the fifth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 3 May 2008. The episode features both former companion Martha Jones and the alien Sontarans...
" in which the Doctor's old enemies the Sontarans, last seen in 1985's "The Two Doctors
The Two Doctors
The Two Doctors is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in three weekly parts from 16 February to 2 March 1985. It starred Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant as the Sixth Doctor and his companion Peri, respectively...
"" make their re-imagined return to series. UNIT
UNIT
UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
and Martha Jones
Martha Jones
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
also returned in these episodes. She also returned to her script editing duties later on in the same series, working on the Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat is a Scottish television writer and producer.Moffat's first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage; conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his...
two-part story "Silence in the Library
Silence in the Library
"Silence in the Library" is the eighth episode of the fourth series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 31 May 2008. It is the first of a two-part story, followed by "Forest of the Dead", and is the second two-parter Steven Moffat contributed to...
"/"Forest of the Dead
Forest of the Dead
"Forest of the Dead" is the ninth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast by BBC One on 7 June 2008...
" and Russell T Davies' "Midnight
Midnight (Doctor Who)
"Midnight" is the tenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 14 June 2008. The episode placed much more emphasis on the role of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor than in the rest of the fourth series, with the...
".
Raynor has also contributed the story "All of Beyond" to the Doctor Who short story collection Short Trips: Snapshots
Short Trips: Snapshots
Short Trips: Snapshots is a Big Finish original anthology edited by Joseph Lidster and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, published in June 2007. This was her first professionally published work of prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
.
Torchwood
In Doctor Who Magazine issue 366 (dated 1 March 2006), it was announced that Raynor would also be script editing the Doctor Who spin-off series TorchwoodTorchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
, also produced by BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
. She went on to write one episode of the series herself – "Ghost Machine
Ghost Machine (Torchwood)
"Ghost Machine" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the third episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 29 October 2006.-Synopsis:...
", broadcast on 29 October 2006 – making extensive use of locations in the city of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
where she lives.
She wrote the third episode of the second season of the show, "To the Last Man
To the Last Man (Torchwood)
"To the Last Man" is the third episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Two on 30 January 2008.-Synopsis:...
", in which Toshiko falls for a handsome soldier, trapped out of his time, who unwittingly holds the key to saving the world.
External links
- Helen Raynor at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
. - Article on "Running Away With The Hairdresser" at bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
. - Review of "Soho".
- Wild Lunch 2003.
- Article on "Cake" at bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
. - Radio Times interview with Helen Raynor - April 2007