Dan Sefton
Dan Sefton is a British screenwriter, best known for the dramas Trust Me and The Good Karma Hospital. Prior to screenwriting, he worked as a doctor.
Early life[edit]
Sefton's mother was a doctor, while his father was a civil servant. He qualified as a doctor in 1995. Early in his medical career, he worked in South Africa, which would later help inspire Good Karma.[1]
Television[edit]
Early work included all four of the BBC's popular continuing dramas, Doctors, EastEnders, Casualty and its spinoff, Holby City. In 2017, Sefton created the medical drama The Good Karma Hospital for ITV and Tiger Aspect Productions. The series is shot in Unawatuna in southern Sri Lanka, Thiranagama Golden Beach Restaurant and some other places in Galle District.[2] It was recommissioned for a second series. Filming for the second series started in August 2017 and was broadcast from 18 March 2018.[3][4][5] Season 3 has been confirmed and will return in 2019.[6]
In 2016, he created Delicious, starring Dawn French, and in 2017 Trust Me, starring Jodie Whittaker.[7][8] Due to Jodie Whittaker's casting as the Thirteenth Doctor in Doctor Who, the second series was set on the neurological unit of South Lothian Hospital, following Syrian tour veteran Captain James 'Jamie' McKay.[9] In 2019, BBC One broadcast his crime series, The Mallorca Files.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted the filming of the second series of The Mallorca Files, Sefton returned to medical work.[10] On January 11, 2022, it was announced Sefton would be developing a drama series about the life of ex-Genesis drummer Chris Stewart.[11]
Writing credits[edit]
| Production | Notes | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|
| Doctors |
7 episodes (2000–2001) |
BBC One |
| Eastenders |
1 episode (2001) |
BBC One |
| Holby City |
11 episodes (2001–2010) |
BBC One |
| Casualty |
2 episodes (2001–2002) |
BBC One |
| The Eustace Bros. |
Episode 1.5 (2003) |
BBC One |
| Born and Bred |
6 episodes (2003–2005) |
ITV |
| Monarch of the Glen |
2 episodes (2004–2005) |
BBC One |
| Secret Diary of A Call Girl |
Episode 4.7 (2011) |
ITV |
| Gates |
Series creator, all episodes (2012) |
Sky1 |
| Death in Paradise |
Death In The Clinic (2013) |
BBC One |
| Mr. Selfridge |
3 episodes (2014) |
ITV |
| The Five |
Episode 1.3 (2016) |
Sky1 |
| Delicious |
Series creator, 8 episodes (2016–2019) |
BSkyB |
| Trust Me |
Series creator, all episodes (2017–2019) |
BBC One |
| Porters |
Series creator (2017–2019) |
Dave |
| The Good Karma Hospital |
Series creator, 7 episodes (2017–2022) |
ITV |
| The Mallorca Files |
Series creator (2019–) |
BBC One |
References[edit]
- ^ "Meet The Good Karma Hospital writer who gave up surgery for screenwriting". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ^ "A dose of Karma". Drama Quarterly. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ^ Louise McCreesh (13 March 2017). "ITV's The Good Karma Hospital is coming back for a second series". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ "ITV orders a second series of The Good Karma Hospital" (Press release). ITV. 12 March 2017. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ Ben Dowell (12 March 2017). "The Good Karma Hospital is coming back for a second series on ITV". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ Eleanor Bley Griffiths (April 2018). "The Good Karma Hospital series three confirmed". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 8 May 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ^ Dowell, Ben (2 December 2016). "Ten TV shows to watch in December". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ^ "Dan Sefton's new psychological thriller starring Jodie Whittaker". BBC Media Centre. 26 July 2017. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ "BBC One's Trust Me will return for a second series WITHOUT Jodie Whittaker". Digital Spy. 23 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ^ Bullimore, Emma (21 January 2021). "Dan Sefton of the Mallorca Files: 'Too much po-faced British TV takes itself very seriously'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ Max Goldbart (11 January 2022). "Dan Sefton To Adapt Ex-Genesis Drummer's Novel For TV – Global Briefs". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
External links[edit]
- Dan Sefton at IMDb